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 June 24, 2026, with reference number CMD/FCS/PUB/CIR/002/011.
According to the apex bank, the latest update to the Nigeria Sanctions List, which took effect on June 18, 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, owned, held, or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the designated persons and entities.”
The move follows sanctions imposed by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on a Nigerian, Mukhtar Adamu, and three bureau de change companies over their alleged involvement in financing the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
In a follow-up action, the Nigerian government released the names of six individuals and three entities placed on its terrorism financing sanctions list.
Those listed are Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Babangida Muhammed, Adamu Hammajam, as well as Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency BDC Limited and Nine to Nine BDC Limited.
Reacting to the development, President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadebe, cautioned against generalising the actions of a few operators to the entire sector.
“The overwhelming majority of licensed BDC operators comply with Nigerian laws and regulatory requirements,” he said.
