By Abu Adamu
The Federal Government has expanded its list of individuals and entities linked to terrorism financing and thrown its weight behind the recent decision by the United States to sanction a Nigerian businessman and several bureau de change (BDC) operators accused of facilitating financial transactions for terrorist groups.
The Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) on Wednesday welcomed the action taken by the United States Department of the Treasury against Mukhtar Muhammad Adamu and three Nigerian BDC firms over alleged links to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had announced sanctions against Adamu and the firms—Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited, Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited and Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited—accusing them of serving as conduits for funds linked to ISIS operations.
According to US authorities, Adamu allegedly used business networks operating in Lagos and Kano to facilitate the movement of funds on behalf of the terrorist organisation.
The sanctions formed part of a broader international crackdown targeting individuals and entities across Europe, the Middle East and West Africa suspected of supporting ISIS financial networks.
In a statement, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee said the US action reinforced measures already taken by Nigerian authorities, noting that Adamu, Nine to Nine BDC, and Generation Currency BDC Limited had been included in the Nigeria Sanctions List published on 18 June 2026.
The committee said the designations followed extensive intelligence gathering, financial investigations, and inter-agency assessments which established reasonable grounds to believe that the affected individuals and organisations had facilitated, financed, or otherwise supported the activities of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and affiliated terrorist networks.
As part of efforts to tighten the noose around terror financing channels, the committee disclosed that additional individuals and entities had also been placed on Nigeria’s sanctions list.
Those designated include Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Mukhtar Muhammad Adamu, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam, Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau de Change Limited, Generation Currency BDC Limited, and Nine to Nine BDC Limited.
The Federal Government directed financial institutions as well as designated non-financial businesses and professions to strictly comply with existing sanctions obligations, including the immediate freezing of assets linked to designated persons, filing suspicious transaction reports, and notifying relevant authorities of any matches.
The committee also commended the collaborative efforts of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Department of State Services (DSS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in identifying and disrupting terrorist financing networks.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to combating terrorism financing, the NSC said authorities would continue to work with both domestic and international partners to strengthen the integrity of the country’s financial system and ensure that terrorists and their financiers find no safe haven within Nigeria.
The committee added that the latest sanctions demonstrate an increasingly coordinated global effort to track, expose, and dismantle financial networks that sustain terrorism and violent extremism.