The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks and other financial institutions to immediately freeze accounts, transactions, and assets linked to six individuals and four Bureau De Change (BDC) operators designated for terrorism financing.
The directive was contained in a circular dated June 24, 2026 (Ref: CMD/FCS/PUB/CIR/002/011), obtained by Channels Television.
According to the apex bank, the latest update to the Nigeria Sanctions List, which took effect on June 18, 2026, is binding on all regulated institutions and must be implemented without delay.
The CBN said the sanctions were issued by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NIGSAC) and the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under Executive Order 13224, as amended.
The six individuals added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and Blocked Persons List are Muktar Muhammad Adamu, Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Ibrahim Abubakar, Adamu Chiroma, and Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim.
Also designated were four Nigeria-based money service businesses and Bureau De Change operators allegedly owned or controlled by the listed individuals. They are Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited, Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited, Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited, and Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau De Change Limited.
The CBN directed all regulated 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.”
The directive follows recent sanctions imposed by the United States government on Mukhtar Muhammad, a Lagos-based BDC operator, and three companies allegedly linked to him.
In a statement issued earlier this week, OFAC accused Muhammad, also known as Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, of facilitating financial transactions and money transfers on behalf of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group.
OFAC also sanctioned Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited, and Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited, alleging that the firms were used to channel funds to the terrorist organisation.
The sanctions extend to any company or entity that is 50 per cent or more owned, individually or collectively, by the designated persons.
Financial institutions were further instructed to ensure that no funds, financial services, or economic resources are made available, directly or indirectly, to the sanctioned individuals or entities.
