Terrorists, financiers have no safe haven in Nigeria’s financial system — FG

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By Luminous Jannamike

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ABUJA — The Federal Government has declared that terrorists and their financiers will find no safe haven within Nigeria’s financial system after the United States imposed sanctions on two Bureau de Change firms and an individual previously designated by Nigerian authorities over alleged terrorism financing.

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The move effectively places Washington’s weight behind sanctions already imposed by Nigeria, signalling a coordinated effort to choke off the financial networks that help sustain terrorist groups and other extremist actors.

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In a statement by the Secretary of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee and made available to journalists by the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the committee welcomed the decision of the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to designate Mukthar Muhammad Adamu, Nine to Nine BDC Limited and Generation Currency BDC Limited.

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The three were among those included in an update to the Nigeria Sanctions List published on June 18, 2026.

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“Nigeria remains resolute in its commitment to ensuring that terrorists and their financiers find no safe haven within the country’s financial system,” the statement said.

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According to the committee, the listing of six individuals and three entities followed extensive intelligence gathering, financial investigations and inter-agency assessments which established reasonable grounds to believe that the affected individuals and entities “facilitated, financed, supported or otherwise contributed to the activities of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and associated terrorist networks.”

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The June 18 update to the Nigeria Sanctions List named Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Muktar Muhammad Adamu, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman and Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam.

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Also listed were Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency BDC Limited and Nine to Nine BDC Limited.

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The Federal Government also directed financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions to maintain full compliance with sanctions obligations.

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“The Federal Government reiterates its directive to all financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions to comply fully with all sanctions obligations, including asset-freezing requirements, the filing of Suspicious Transaction Reports and the reporting of relevant matches to the appropriate authorities,” the committee said.

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The statement also commended the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Office of the National Security Adviser for their roles in the sanctions process.

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It further commended the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Department of State Services, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit for supporting efforts to cut off the financial lifelines of terrorist organisations.

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Commending the agencies, the committee said they had acted to ensure that terrorist groups are denied access to resources that sustain their activities.

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The committee reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to working with domestic and international partners to combat terrorism financing and strengthen the integrity of the country’s financial system.

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“The Government will continue to work closely with domestic stakeholders and international partners to safeguard national security, strengthen financial integrity and contribute to global efforts to combat terrorism and terrorist financing,” the statement added.

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