The United States has frozen the assets of eight Nigerians over alleged links to the extremist group Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), tightening financial sanctions as part of its global counter-terrorism framework.
The action was detailed in a February 10 update by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which administers U.S. sanctions programmes targeting terrorism financing, cybercrime and other national security threats.
According to OFAC, the designation blocks all property and interests in property of the named individuals within U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits American persons or entities from engaging in transactions with them.
Convictions, aliases and terror designations
Among those listed is Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, born August 23, 1990. U.S. authorities linked him to Boko Haram financing activities. He was previously convicted in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 alongside five others for attempting to move $782,000 from Dubai to Nigeria to support insurgent operations.
Another individual, Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, born March 4, 1953, was designated under counter-terrorism sanctions and listed under multiple aliases.
Also sanctioned were Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi (Ba Idrisa), Abu Musab Al-Barnawi (Habib Yusuf), Khaled Al-Barnawi, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, and Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Mainuki. Several of them were reportedly born in Maiduguri and other parts of Borno State, long considered the epicentre of Boko Haram’s insurgency.
In a separate action, Nnamdi Orson Benson, born March 21, 1987, was designated under cyber-related sanctions.
The sanctions followed broader U.S. congressional recommendations urging visa bans and asset freezes on individuals and groups accused of extremist links or religious freedom violations.
Among those mentioned in related deliberations were former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria.
The United States formally designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation in 2013, citing its sustained campaign of violence across northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin since 2009.
In October 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Nigeria would again be listed among “Countries of Particular Concern” by the U.S. State Department over alleged religious freedom violations. Nigeria had previously been placed on the list in 2020 before being removed under the administration of former President Joe Biden.
Analysts say the latest sanctions underscore Washington’s continued reliance on financial tools to disrupt terror networks and signal diplomatic pressure, even as Nigeria grapples with evolving security threats in the North-East and beyond.
U.S. freezes assets of eight Nigerians over terror-linked Islamic sect
