The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has directed banks, payment service banks, and other financial institutions to immediately freeze all accounts, assets, and transactions connected to six individuals and four Bureau de Change, BDC, operators designated for terrorism financing.
The directive was issued 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 became effective 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.”
This development follows sanctions announced by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, against a Nigerian, Mukhtar Adamu, and three Bureau de Change companies over their alleged involvement in financing the terrorist group Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP.
Following that action, the Nigerian government released the names of six individuals and three entities sanctioned for terrorism financing.
Those listed include 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, President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadebe, cautioned against generalizing the sanctions across the entire BDC sector.
“The overwhelming majority of licensed BDC operators comply with Nigerian laws and regulatory requirements,” he said.
