In a sweeping move against terror financing, the United States government has frozen the assets and properties of eight Nigerians accused of links to Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The sanctions, contained in a 3,000-page document released on February 10 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), were published under the “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.”
The designation means all assets belonging to the individuals within U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and American citizens and institutions are barred from transacting with them.
The names on Washington’s radar are Salih Yusuf Adamu (Salihu Yusuf) , convicted in the UAE in 2022 for running a Boko Haram cell in Dubai that attempted to funnel $782,000 to insurgents in Nigeria; Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, born in 1953, listed under multiple aliases including Wole A. Babestan and Olatunde Irewole Shofeso; Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi (Ba Idrisa), born between 1989 and 1994 in Maiduguri, flagged for terror ties; Abu Musab Al-Barnawi (Habib Yusuf), senior Boko Haram leader, with varying reported birth years between 1990 and 1995.
Others include Khaled Al-Barnawi (Abu Hafsat/Mohammed Usman), born in 1976, linked to Boko Haram operations; Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, born in 1981, reportedly residing in Abu Dhabi, UAE; Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Mainuki (Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki), born in 1982 in Mainok, Borno State, tied to ISIL; and Nnamdi Orson Benson, born in 1987, sanctioned under cyber-related measures.
The sanctions were issued under Executive Order 13224, targeting individuals and entities involved in terrorism and its financing.
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This latest crackdown comes amid heightened scrutiny of Nigeria’s human rights record in Washington.
Recently, U.S. lawmakers pushed for visa bans and asset freezes against former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso and cattle-breeding associations Miyetti Allah and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, citing alleged religious freedom violations.
In October 2025, President Donald Trump announced Nigeria’s return to the U.S. State Department’s list of “Countries of Particular Concern” over alleged persecution of Christians. Nigeria was first placed on the list in 2020, removed in 2021 under President Joe Biden, and reinstated last year.
The U.S. formally designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2013, citing its bloody campaign across northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin.
