The United States has frozen the assets and properties of eight Nigerians accused of ties to Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, according to a 3,000-page document released by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on February 10.
The document also targets individuals involved in cybercrime and other security threats.
The move follows recent US congressional recommendations for visa bans and asset freezes on individuals and groups accused of religious violations and persecution of Christians in Nigeria, including former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, and Miyetti Allah Kautal.
OFAC’s “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List” provides official notice of the sanctions, which block the property and interests of the designated individuals and prevent US persons from engaging in transactions with them.
Among the Nigerians listed are Salih Yusuf Adamu, born August 23, 1990, who was convicted in 2022 alongside five others for establishing a Boko Haram cell in the UAE and attempting to transfer $782,000 to insurgents in Nigeria.
Others include Babestan Oluwole Ademulero (aliases: Wole A. Babestan, Olatunde Irewole Shofeso), Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi (Ba Idrisa), Abu Musab Al-Barnawi (Habib Yusuf), Khaled (Khalid) Al-Barnawi, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Mainuki (Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki), and Nnamdi Orson Benson, who faces cybercrime sanctions.
The sanctions underline Washington’s ongoing focus on combating terrorism financing, cyber threats, and global security risks.
US sanctions under Executive Order 13224 block all property and interests of the designated individuals within US jurisdiction.
Boko Haram, officially designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2013, has been responsible for thousands of deaths across northern Nigeria and neighboring Lake Chad Basin countries.
Nigeria has also faced repeated US scrutiny over religious freedom, with the country added to the “Countries of Particular Concern” list twice—first in 2020 and again in October 2025 under President Donald Trump.
