The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed banks and other financial institutions to immediately freeze all accounts, assets, and financial resources linked to six individuals and four Bureau de Change (BDC) operators designated for alleged terrorism financing activities.
The directive was contained in a circular issued on Thursday and signed by the Director of Compliance Department of the apex bank, Olubunmi Ayodele-Oni.
According to the CBN, the sanctions followed recent designations by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under Executive Order 13224, as amended.
The apex bank stated that the Nigeria Sanctions List was updated on June 18, 2026, and that all regulated financial institutions are required to implement the sanctions immediately.
The six individuals named in the directive are:
- Muktar Muhammad Adamu
- Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam
- Abdullahi Umar Usman
- Ibrahim Abubakar
- Adamu Chiroma
- Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim
The CBN also identified four Nigeria-based money service businesses and BDC operators allegedly owned or controlled by the designated persons. They include:
- Generation Currency Bureau de Change Limited
- Manhattan Bureau de Change Limited
- Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau de Change Limited
- Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau de Change Limited
Under the directive, banks are required to immediately screen all existing customers, beneficial owners, and incoming and outgoing transactions against the updated sanctions lists, including aliases and other identifying information linked to the designated individuals and entities.
The CBN further ordered financial institutions to freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and economic resources belonging to or controlled directly or indirectly by the sanctioned persons and entities. The order also extends to businesses that are at least 50 per cent owned, individually or collectively, by any of the designated parties.
Financial institutions have also been prohibited from making funds, financial services, or economic resources available to the affected individuals or entities.
In addition, the apex bank directed banks to file Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit for any confirmed or attempted matches and submit compliance reports to the CBN within 48 hours.
The reports are expected to indicate whether any matches were identified, provide details of affected accounts, disclose amounts frozen or restricted, and outline measures taken by the institutions. Banks that record no matches are also required to file nil returns.
The CBN further instructed financial institutions to intensify monitoring of transactions that may indicate terrorism financing, including structured transactions, rapid movement of funds, use of money service businesses and informal channels, as well as dealings involving high-risk jurisdictions.
Warning against non-compliance, the apex bank stated that inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading submissions would amount to violations of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 and other applicable laws, adding that it would conduct supervisory reviews and examinations to ensure full compliance with the sanctions directive.