By Monsurat Abisoye
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks, payment service banks, and other financial institutions to immediately freeze all accounts, assets, and transactions linked to six individuals and four Bureau De Change (BDC) operators designated for terrorism financing.
The directive was contained in a circular dated 24 June 2026 (Ref: CMD/FCS/PUB/CIR/002/011). According to the apex bank, the latest update to the Nigeria Sanctions List, which took effect on 18 June 2026, is binding on all regulated institutions and must be implemented without delay.
The CBN instructed financial institutions to identify and immediately freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and other economic resources belonging to or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the designated persons and entities.
The move follows sanctions announced by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against Nigerian national Mukhtar Adamu and three Bureau De Change firms over their alleged involvement in financing the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Subsequently, the Federal Government released the names of six individuals and three entities sanctioned for terrorism financing. Those listed are Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Babangida Muhammed, Adamu Hammajam, Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency BDC Limited, and Nine to Nine BDC Limited.
Reacting to the development, the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadebe, said the sanctions should not tarnish the reputation of all BDC operators in the country, insisting that the vast majority of licensed operators comply with Nigerian laws and regulatory requirements.