The United States has frozen the assets and properties of eight Nigerians accused of links with the terrorist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released a document over the weekend, spanning more than 3,000 pages. It also listed people sanctioned for cybercrime and other security threats.
This announcement follows recent US Congress recommendations for visa bans and asset freezes on former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and certain Miyetti Allah groups over alleged attacks against Christians in Nigeria.
The document details individuals and entities from several countries whose assets were blocked. It serves as a reference tool, giving notice of OFAC actions against Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs), whose property and interests are now restricted as part of US counter-terrorism measures.
According to OFAC, the action is part of wider efforts to prevent financial dealings with SDNs and block their property and interests.
“This publication of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, is designed as a reference tool providing actual notice of actions by OFAC with respect to Specially Designated Nationals and other persons (which term includes both individuals and entities) whose property is blocked, to assist the public in complying with the various sanctions programmes administered by OFAC,” the agency said.
Among those named is Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, born on August 23, 1990, in Nigeria. He was identified as having links to Boko Haram and holds a Nigerian passport.
Yusuf was one of six Nigerians convicted in 2022 for creating a Boko Haram cell in the United Arab Emirates to raise funds for fighters in Nigeria. The six were found guilty of trying to send $782,000 from Dubai to Nigeria.
Another individual, Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, born March 4, 1953, in Nigeria, was listed under SDNTK. He is also known by aliases including Wole A. Babestan and Olatunde Irewole Shofeso.
Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi, also called Ba Idrisa, was born between 1989 and 1994 in Maiduguri, Borno State. He was sanctioned under terrorism-related provisions.
Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, also known as Habib Yusuf, born between 1990 and 1995, was identified as a Boko Haram leader and added to terrorism sanctions.
Khaled or Khalid Al-Barnawi, born in 1976 in Maiduguri, Nigeria, was linked to Boko Haram and appeared with several aliases, including Abu Hafsat and Mohammed Usman.
Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, born January 31, 1981, in Nigeria, holds a Nigerian passport and reportedly lives in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He is linked to Boko Haram.
Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad Al-Mainuki, also called Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, born 1982 in Mainok, Borno State, was identified as having ties to ISIL.
Nnamdi Orson Benson, born March 21, 1987, in Nigeria, was listed under cybercrime-related sanctions. He also holds a Nigerian passport.
The inclusion of these Nigerians on the OFAC list shows Washington’s continued focus on stopping terrorism financing and cyber threats.
The sanctions block all property and interests of these individuals in the US. American citizens and companies are generally forbidden from doing business with them.
Those listed face asset freezes under Executive Order 13224. Boko Haram was officially declared a foreign terrorist group by the US in 2013.
The State Department says the group “is responsible for numerous attacks in northern and northeastern Nigeria, as well as the Lake Chad Basin in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, killing thousands since 2009.”
