Full List Revealed: US Hits Eight Nigerians With Sweeping Financial Sanctions

The United States has imposed sanctions on eight Nigerians, freezing their assets and properties over alleged connections to Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The action was detailed in a 3,000-page document dated February 10 and released by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The document, titled Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, was sighted by our correspondent on Monday. It also includes individuals sanctioned for cybercrime and other security-related offences.

OFAC explained that the publication serves as formal notice of measures taken against individuals and entities designated under US sanctions programmes, whose assets and interests within US jurisdiction are blocked. The agency noted that the list is intended to help the public comply with the sanctions it administers.

As a result of the designation, all property and financial interests belonging to the named individuals within US jurisdiction are frozen, and US persons are generally barred from conducting transactions with them.

Among those listed is Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, born August 23, 1990, who was identified as having ties to Boko Haram and reportedly holds a Nigerian passport. He was one of six Nigerians convicted in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 for establishing a Boko Haram cell to raise funds for insurgents, including an attempted transfer of $782,000 from Dubai to Nigeria.

Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, born March 4, 1953, was also designated and appeared under several aliases, including Wole A. Babestan and Olatunde Irewole Shofeso.

Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi, also known as Ba Idrisa and reportedly born between 1989 and 1994 in Maiduguri, Borno State, was sanctioned under terrorism-related provisions.

Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, also referred to as Habib Yusuf, was identified as a Boko Haram leader and listed under terrorism sanctions.

Khaled (or Khalid) Al-Barnawi, born in 1976 in Maiduguri, was also linked to Boko Haram and designated under aliases including Abu Hafsat and Mohammed Usman.

Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, born January 31, 1981, and said to reside in Abu Dhabi, was similarly cited for alleged Boko Haram connections.

Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Mainuki, also known as Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, born in 1982 in Mainok, Borno State, was identified as having ties to ISIL.

Nnamdi Orson Benson, born March 21, 1987, was listed under the CYBER2 sanctions programme and reportedly holds a Nigerian passport.

The sanctions come amid renewed calls by US lawmakers for visa restrictions and asset freezes on individuals and groups accused of religious freedom violations in Nigeria.

Under Executive Order 13224, those designated under US Treasury sanctions face asset freezes and other restrictions as part of Washington’s counter-terrorism financing framework. The United States designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation in 2013, citing its role in numerous deadly attacks across Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin.