The United States has imposed sanctions on eight Nigerian nationals, accusing them of links to terrorist organisations—including Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)—as well as involvement in cybercrime-related offences.
The measures were announced on February 10 through the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The designations were included in a comprehensive 3,000-page update of the “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List” (SDN List), a key reference document that identifies individuals and entities subject to US sanctions.
According to OFAC, the list serves as formal notification that the property and interests in property of those named are now blocked under US law, as part of broader counter-terrorism and sanctions enforcement programmes.
“This publication of the 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… whose property is blocked, to assist the public in complying with the various sanctions programmes administered by OFAC,” the agency stated.
Key Individuals Designated
Among those named is Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, born August 23, 1990. He was identified for his alleged links to Boko Haram. Adamu was among six Nigerians convicted in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 for operating a Boko Haram cell aimed at raising 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 for his alleged involvement with terrorist groups.
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-Barnaw, 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.
The sanctions freeze any US-based assets belonging to the designated individuals and generally prohibit Americans from doing business with them. The move underscores Washington’s continued focus on disrupting terrorist financing and cybercrime networks with ties to Nigeria and the wider West African region.
