The United States has frozen the assets and properties of eight Nigerians accused of having links to Boko Haram insurgents, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as well as cybercrime-related offences.
This was contained in a 3,000-page document dated February 10, released by the United States Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and titled “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List” (SDN List).
The publication also provided notice of actions taken against Specially Designated Nationals, whose property and interests were blocked as part of counter-terrorism efforts.
This is even as Nigerian soldiers from the Forward Operating Base, Chabbal Checkpoint in Borno State have intercepted N37 million concealed in bags, along with several mobile phones suspected to be linked to terrorist financing and coordination.
The suspects were apprehended after troops stopped and searched the vehicle conveying the cash. Five individuals were taken into custody during the operation, which followed credible intelligence and routine checkpoint procedures.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), Lieutenant Colonel Uba Sani, described the interception as a major breakthrough in efforts to dismantle financial networks believed to be supporting terrorist logistics and operations in the theatre.
He explained that the operation forms part of a broader strategy aimed at cutting off both the physical movement corridors and financial lifelines of terrorist groups.
On February 16, 2026, troops of Sector 1, working alongside vigilante forces, carried out a coordinated night ambush along a known crossing route frequently used by ISWAP elements moving from the Cameroon axis into Nigeria.
The insurgents reportedly ran into heavy enfilade fire from concealed troop positions and were forced to retreat in disarray. Subsequent mop-up of the area led to the recovery of a sizeable cache of logistics supplies believed to be intended for terrorist resupply operations.
Meanwhile, the February 10 OFAC sanctions list did not feature the names of individuals and entities whom the US Congress had called for visa bans and asset freezes over violations of religious freedom and persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
TopSociety recalls that it lawmakers had in a legislation, titled the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 (HR 7457), fingered former Kano governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso; the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria; and Miyetti Allah Kautal.
Individuals listed include:
Salih Yusuf Adamu, alias Salihu Yusuf, born August 23, 1990. He was identified as having links to Boko Haram. Yusuf was among six Nigerians convicted in 2022 in the United Arab Emirates for establishing a Boko Haram cell to raise funds for insurgents in Nigeria. The group was found guilty of attempting to transfer $782,000 from Dubai to Nigeria.
Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, born March 4, 1953, was listed under terrorism-related sanctions. He was identified under multiple aliases, including Wole A. Babestan and Olatunde Irewole Shofeso.
Also designated was Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi, also known as Ba Idrisa, reportedly born between 1989 and 1994 in Maiduguri, Borno State. He was flagged under terrorism-related sanctions.
Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, also referred to as Habib Yusuf, was identified as a Boko Haram leader and listed with varying birth years between 1990 and 1995.
Khaled (or Khalid) Al-Barnawi, born in 1976 in Maiduguri, appeared twice in the publication and was listed under several aliases, including Abu Hafsat and Mohammed Usman.
Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, born January 31, 1981, was identified as holding a Nigerian passport and reportedly residing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He was also linked to Boko Haram.
Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Mainuki, also known as Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, born in 1982 in Mainok, Borno State, was designated for alleged ties to ISIL.
Nnamdi Orson Benson, born March 21, 1987, was listed under CYBER2 sanctions, which target individuals involved in significant malicious cyber-enabled activities. He was also identified as holding a Nigerian passport.
Scope of the Sanctions:
Under the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the listed individuals within US jurisdiction are blocked. US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
The sanctions were issued pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which targets individuals and entities involved in terrorism and terrorism financing.
The United States designated Boko Haram a foreign terrorist organisation in 2013.
According to the US State Department, the group has carried out attacks in northern and northeastern Nigeria, as well as in parts of Cameroon, Chad and Niger within the Lake Chad Basin, resulting in thousands of deaths since 2009.
