The United States has frozen the assets and properties of eight Nigerians accused of having links to Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as well as involvement in cybercrime-related offences.
The action was contained in a 3,000-page document dated February 10 and released by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury.
The document, titled “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,” identified individuals and entities whose assets have been frozen as part of counter-terrorism and other security measures.
The move follows recent recommendations by members of the United States Congress for visa bans and asset freezes on persons and groups accused of violations of religious freedom and the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
Among those reportedly recommended by US lawmakers for visa restrictions and asset freezes are former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.
According to OFAC, the publication serves as a reference tool notifying the public of actions taken against Specially Designated Nationals whose property and interests have been blocked.
“This publication of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control 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 stated.
Among those listed is Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, born on August 23, 1990. He was identified as having ties to Boko Haram and was reported to hold a Nigerian passport.
Adamu was among six Nigerians convicted in 2022 for setting up a Boko Haram cell in the United Arab Emirates to raise funds for insurgents in Nigeria. The group was convicted in the UAE for attempting to send $782,000 from Dubai to Nigeria.
Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, born on March 4, 1953, was designated under SDNTK sanctions and listed under several 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, under terrorism-related sanctions.
Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, also referred to as Habib Yusuf and identified as a Boko Haram leader, was sanctioned under terrorism provisions.
Khaled (or Khalid) Al-Barnawi, born in 1976 in Maiduguri, was linked to Boko Haram and listed under several aliases, including Abu Hafsat and Mohammed Usman.
Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, born January 31, 1981, and reported to reside in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 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 identified as having ties to ISIL.
Nnamdi Orson Benson, born March 21, 1987, was listed under CYBER2 sanctions and was reported to hold a Nigerian passport.
The sanctions mean that all property and interests belonging to the designated individuals within US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. The affected Nigerians face asset freezes under Executive Order 13224.
The United States officially designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organiz
Sation in 2013.
The United States Department of State said the group has carried out numerous attacks in northern and north-eastern Nigeria, as well as in the Lake Chad Basin region of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, killing thousands of people since 2009.
Under US law, the Secretary of State determines countries that have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism. Such countries may be designated under Section 1754(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, Section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, and Section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
In October 2025, US President, Donald Trump, announced that Nigeria would be added to the State Department’s list of “Countries of Particular Concern.”
In a post on X, Trump stated that Nigeria would be placed on a religious freedom watchlist, alleging that Christians were facing persecution and being killed by Muslims.
Nigeria was first designated a Country of Particular Concern in 2020 under Trump. However, former President Joe Biden removed Nigeria from the list shortly after assuming office.
