U.S freezes assets of 8 Nigerians over link with Boko Haram
By editor
The US government has frozen assets of eight Nigerians suspected to have link with the Boko Haram terrorists.
This is contained in a 3,000-page document dated Feb. 10, released by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The document also identified individuals sanctioned for cybercrime-related offences and other security threats.
This came on the heels of recent recommendations by the US Congress for visa bans and asset freezes on persons and groups suspected of violations of religious freedom and persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
The OFAC document, titled “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,” detailed individuals of other nationalities and entities whose assets had been frozen, serving as a reference tool.
It also provided notice of actions taken against Specially Designated Nationals, whose property and interests were blocked as part of counter-terrorism efforts.
According to OFAC, the move forms part of its broader efforts to block the property and interests of Specially Designated Nationals and prevent financial dealings with them.
Among those listed were Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, born on Aug. 23, 1990, in Nigeria. Yusuf was identified as having ties with Boko Haram and was reported to hold a Nigerian passport.
Yusuf was among six Nigerians convicted in 2022 for setting up a Boko Haram cell in the United Arab Emirates to raise funds for insurgents in Nigeria. The six men were convicted in the UAE for attempting to send $782,000 from Dubai to Nigeria.
Another person, Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, born on March 4, 1953, in Nigeria, was designated under SDNTK sanctions. He appeared under several aliases, including Wole A. Babestan and Olatunde Irewole Shofeso.
Also designated was Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi, also known as Ba Idrisa. He was reportedly born between 1989 and 1994 in Maiduguri, Borno State, and was flagged under terrorism-related sanctions.
Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, also referred to as Habib Yusuf, was listed with varying birth years between 1990 and 1995. He was identified as a Boko Haram leader and sanctioned under terrorism provisions.
Khaled (or Khalid) Al-Barnawi, whose name appeared twice in the publication, was born in 1976 in Maiduguri, Nigeria. He was linked to Boko Haram and listed under several aliases, including Abu Hafsat and Mohammed Usman.
Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, born January 31, 1981, in Nigeria, was listed with a Nigerian passport. He was reported to reside in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and was linked to Boko Haram.
Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Mainuki, also known as Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, was born in 1982 in Mainok, Borno State. He was identified as having ties to ISIL.
Nnamdi Orson Benson, born March 21, 1987, in Nigeria, was listed under CYBER2 sanctions and was reported to hold a Nigerian passport.
The inclusion of these names in the OFAC list highlighted Washington’s continued focus on countering terrorism financing and cyber threats.
The sanctions mean that all property and interests of these individuals within US jurisdiction were blocked, and US citizens were generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
Nigerians listed under the US Treasury sanctions face asset freezes under Executive Order 13224.
The US officially designated Boko Haram a foreign terrorist organisation in 2013.
According to the US State Department, the group is responsible for numerous attacks in the northern and northeastern regions of the country, as well as in the Lake Chad Basin in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, that have killed thousands of people since 2009.
