The United States government has frozen the assets and properties of eight Nigerians accused of having links to the extremist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
This way, Washington intensified counter-terrorism crackdown on individuals allegedly financing or supporting insurgent activities.
The action was detailed in a 3,000-page document dated February 10 and released by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The document, sighted on Monday, forms part of OFAC’s updated “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List” (SDN List), which identifies individuals and entities subject to US sanctions.
According to OFAC, the publication serves as an official notice of actions taken against Specially Designated Nationals whose property and interests in property are blocked under various US sanctions programmes.
“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… whose property is blocked, to assist the public in complying with the various sanctions programmes administered by OFAC,” the agency stated.
It explained that the sanctions mean that all property and interests belonging to the listed individuals within US jurisdiction are frozen.
US persons and entities are also generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
The measures were imposed under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorism.
Among those listed is Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, born August 23, 1990.
He was identified as having ties to Boko Haram and holding a Nigerian passport. Yusuf was among six Nigerians convicted in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 for establishing a Boko Haram cell in Dubai aimed at raising funds for insurgents in Nigeria.
The group was found guilty of attempting to transfer $782,000 from Dubai to Nigeria.
Also designated under terrorism-related sanctions is Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi, also known as Ba Idrisa, reportedly born between 1989 and 1994 in Maiduguri, Borno State.
Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, also referred to as Habib Yusuf and identified as a Boko Haram leader, was listed with varying birth years between 1990 and 1995.
Khaled (or Khalid) Al-Barnawi, born in 1976 in Maiduguri, appeared twice in the publication under multiple aliases, including Abu Hafsat and Mohammed Usman. He was similarly linked to Boko Haram.
Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, born January 31, 1981, was listed as residing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and was also connected to Boko Haram activities.
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.
In a separate designation, Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, born March 4, 1953, appeared under the SDNTK (Specially Designated National Terrorist) sanctions list with multiple aliases.
Nnamdi Orson Benson, born March 21, 1987, was listed under CYBER2 sanctions and accused of involvement in cybercrime-related offences. He was also reported to hold a Nigerian passport.
The asset freeze comes amid renewed pressure from US lawmakers, who recently recommended visa bans and asset freezes against certain Nigerian individuals and groups accused of religious persecution.
Among those reportedly recommended for sanctions by members of Congress are Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Governor of Kano State, as well as Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.
While those recommendations remain separate from the latest OFAC designations, they underscore mounting scrutiny in Washington over Nigeria’s security and religious freedom record.
The United States formally designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation in 2013.
According to the US State Department, the group has carried out numerous attacks in northern and northeastern Nigeria, as well as across the Lake Chad Basin region covering Cameroon, Chad and Niger, resulting in thousands of deaths since 2009.
Under US law, countries found to have repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism may be designated under various statutes, including the National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2019, the Arms Export Control Act, and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
In October 2025, Donald Trump, the US President, announced that Nigeria would again be added to the US State Department’s list of “Countries of Particular Concern” over allegations of religious persecution.
Nigeria had first been designated in 2020 during Trump’s previous administration, but was later removed from the list by his successor.
