KEY POINTS

• US Nigeria terror sanctions freeze assets of eight.
• The sanctions include Boko Haram suspects.
• US Nigeria terror sanctions block financial transactions.

The United States has frozen the assets of eight Nigerians over alleged links to Boko Haram, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and cybercrime activity, according to a sanctions update issued by the US Treasury.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control published the names in a February 10 update to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, a document that identifies individuals and entities subject to financial restrictions under US law.

The move places the individuals under counterterrorism and cyber-related sanctions, barring US persons from conducting transactions with them and blocking any property or interests under US jurisdiction.

US Nigeria terror sanctions target eight

OFAC said the publication provides formal notice of actions it has taken against designated individuals and entities whose property it blocks under various sanctions programmes. Among those named is Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, whom authorities previously convicted in the United Arab Emirates for attempting to raise funds for Boko Haram. UAE courts in 2022 convicted six Nigerians for trying to transfer $782,000 from Dubai to Nigeria to support insurgents.

OFAC also listed Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi and Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, whom US authorities identify as Boko Haram leaders. Khaled Al-Barnawi, also known by several aliases, appears on the list for alleged ties to the group.

Other designees include Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, whom the document links to Boko Haram activities, and Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Mainuki, whom US authorities associate with ISIL. Nnamdi Orson Benson appeared under CYBER2 sanctions, which target individuals involved in significant cyber-enabled activities.

These sanctions expand pressure

Under Executive Order 13224, OFAC blocks all property and interests in property of designated persons that fall within US jurisdiction. The order also prohibits US persons from engaging in transactions with them.

The update follows recent recommendations in the US Congress that called for visa bans and asset freezes on individuals and groups accused of religious persecution in Nigeria.

Washington designated Boko Haram a foreign terrorist organisation in 2013. US officials say the group has carried out attacks across northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin since 2009. The latest designations further underscore the continued use of financial sanctions as a tool to counter terrorism financing and cyber threats linked to Nigeria.