The United States has placed sanctions on eight Nigerians accused of links to terror groups and cyber-related criminal activity, freezing any assets they hold under U.S. jurisdiction and warning Americans not to engage with them.
The list was released over the weekend by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in a more than 3,000-page document outlining people and entities targeted as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) under U.S. counter-terrorism laws.
“The publication of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control … is designed as a reference tool providing actual notice of actions by OFAC … whose property is blocked,” the agency said in a statement included in the document.
Several of the Nigerians on the list are alleged to have ties with Boko Haram, the group the U.S. designated a foreign terrorist organisation in 2013, and with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Among those sanctioned is Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, identified as having links to Boko Haram and carrying a Nigerian passport.
He was previously convicted in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 with five others for setting up a Boko Haram cell to raise funds for fighters.
Others listed include Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi, known as Ba Idrisa, and several members of the Al-Barnawi family, who are widely reported to be associated with Boko Haram leadership.
The list also includes Nnamdi Orson Benson, whose designation under cybercrime sanctions suggests involvement in significant online criminal activity.
Under the U.S. sanctions, all property and interests of these individuals in the United States or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked, and Americans are generally barred from engaging in financial dealings with them.
The move comes amid broader U.S. efforts to combat terrorism financing and cyber threats, including visa bans and asset freezes recommended by Congress for other Nigerians under similar allegations.
Nigeria’s government and law enforcement agencies have not yet publicly responded to the sanctions announcement.
