Following 48-person terrorism roster, government takes action against Mamu and Ekpa, seeking their expulsion to face charges.

The Federal Government has released a list of 48 individuals and groups allegedly involved in financing terrorist activities in the country, a move that came just 24 hours after the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice concluded the ninth phase of the mass trial of over 500 persons linked to the Boko Haram terrorist sect.

n

The trial, which was conducted by 10 judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja, resulted in a total of 386 convictions, with the Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, leading the FG’s legal team alongside the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.

n

Most of the convicts were represented by a team of lawyers from the National Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, and the courts issued various sentences, including life imprisonment, as well as consequential orders recommending that the convicts undergo rehabilitation and deradicalisation programmes.

n

The AGF expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the cases, stating that the punishments meted out to the defendants were intended to send a clear signal to those involved in terrorism and terrorism financing, emphasizing that there is no space for them in Nigeria.

n

The AGF further stated that the government has been able to bring justice to the convicts, and that this is the clear signal being sent to those involved in terrorism, adding that while they cannot stop them from going elsewhere, Nigeria cannot accommodate them.

n

A few hours after the declaration, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee made public the list of those it alleged were complicit in sponsoring terrorism across the federation, which included three groups - Indigenous People of Biafra, Ansaru, and the Islamic State West Africa Province - that had already been proscribed as terrorist organisations.

n

The list also included the self-styled Prime Minister of Biafra, Mr. Simon Ekpa, who was convicted in September 2025 by the Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland for terrorism-related charges and sentenced to six years in prison.

n

Ekpa was found guilty of supplying weapons, explosives, and ammunition to armed separatist groups in the southeastern part of the country, as well as exploiting his online influence to promote violence between August 2021 and November 2024.

n

Another notable name on the list is the alleged Abuja-Kaduna train kidnapping negotiator, Mr. Tukur Mamu, who is billed to open his defence to a 10-count terrorism charge filed by the FG on April 23.

n

Mamu was arraigned before the court on March 21, 2023, for allegedly aiding terrorist operations in the country, and the FG told the court that investigations revealed the defendant collected an aggregate sum of $420,000 from families of the victims, as well as N21 million from another set of families of the train attack victims.

n

The prosecution further alleged that Mamu concealed funds he earned from services rendered to the terrorist organisation in his residence in Kaduna State, and that he received ransom payments in the sum of N500,000 on behalf of the Boko Haram terrorist group from families of the train attack hostages in 2022.

n

Mamu was arrested on September 6, 2022, at Cairo Airport, Egypt, while on his way to Saudi Arabia for Lesser Hajj with his family members, and was subsequently brought back to the country and taken into custody by the DSS, which obtained a detention order against him.

n

In an affidavit deposed to by one of its operatives, Hamza Pandogari, the DSS told the court that Mamu used the cover of journalism to perpetrate his deeds, and that preliminary investigations revealed his involvement in terrorism financing.

n

Other alleged terrorism financiers on the list published by the FG on Saturday include Abdulsamat Ohida, Mohammed Sani, Abdurrahaman Abdurrahaman, Fatima Ishaq, Yusuf Ghazali, and Muhammad Sani, among others.

n

The list also includes Abubakar Muhammad, Sallamudeen Hassan, Adamu Ishak, Hassana Isah, Abdulkareem Musa, Umar Abdullahi, and Abdurrahaman Ado, as well as Bashir Yusuf, Ibrahim Alhassan, and Muhammad Isah.

n

Additional names on the list are Salihu Adamu, Surajo Mohammad, Fannami Bukar, Muhammed Musa, Sahabi Ismail, Mohammed Buba, Jama’atu Wal-Jihad, Yan Group, and Yan Group NLBDG, among others.

n

There are indications that the FG would initiate extradition proceedings to ensure the repatriation of some of the individuals currently outside the country.