By Ovasa Ogaga,
The United States has frozen the assets and properties of eight Nigerians accused of having links to Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, according to a new sanctions list released by the US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The action, detailed in a February 10 document titled “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,” blocks all property and interests of the affected individuals within US jurisdiction and prohibits US persons from engaging in transactions with them.
OFAC stated that the publication serves as a formal notice of sanctions actions.
“This publication of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is designed as a reference tool providing actual notice of actions by OFAC with respect to Specially Designated Nationals and other persons (which term includes both individuals and entities) whose property is blocked, to assist the public in complying with the various sanctions programmes administered by OFAC.”
Among those listed is Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, born August 23, 1990, in Nigeria. Yusuf was previously convicted in 2022 in the United Arab Emirates for helping establish a Boko Haram cell that attempted to channel $782,000 from Dubai to Nigeria.
Also designated is Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, born March 4, 1953, identified under multiple aliases, including Wole A. Babestan and Olatunde Irewole Shofeso.
Other individuals named include Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi (also known as Ba Idrisa), Abu Musab Al-Barnawi (Habib Yusuf), Khaled Al-Barnawi, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Mainuki, and Nnamdi Orson Benson, who was listed under cybercrime-related sanctions.
The sanctions fall under Executive Order 13224, which targets individuals and entities linked to terrorism and its financing.
The development comes amid heightened scrutiny by US lawmakers over Nigeria’s security and religious freedom landscape. Recent recommendations by members of the US Congress called for visa bans and asset freezes on certain Nigerian individuals and groups, including former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The inclusion of the Nigerians in the OFAC list underscores Washington’s continued emphasis on disrupting terrorism financing networks and countering cyber threats.
The United States designated Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organisation in 2013, citing the group’s involvement in deadly attacks across Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin.
Separately, Nigeria’s religious freedom status has remained a subject of debate in Washington. In October 2025, US President Donald Trump announced that Nigeria would be added to the State Department’s religious freedom watchlist, alleging persecution of Christians.
Nigeria was first designated a “Country of Particular Concern” in 2020 under Trump, but was later removed from the list by former President Joe Biden.
