Nigeria welcomes US OFAC listings of BDCs, individuals tied to ISWAP
By Patience Ikpeme
The Nigeria Sanctions Committee has welcomed the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) recent designation of Mukthar Muhammad Adamu, Nine to Nine BDC and Generation Currency BDC Limited, saying the move reinforces efforts to cut terrorist financing and protect the integrity of the country’s financial system.
The three names were added on the heels of a broader update to the Nigeria Sanctions List published on 18 June 2026, which named nine persons and entities after “extensive intelligence gathering, financial investigations, and inter‑agency assessments,” the committee said.
The update concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe the individuals and companies had “facilitated, financed, supported or otherwise contributed to the activities of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and associated terrorist networks.”
The June 18 list identified Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Muktar Muhammad Adamu, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman and Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam, alongside corporate entries Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency BDC Limited and Nine to Nine BDC Limited.
The Sanctions Committee urged Nigerian financial institutions and designated non‑financial businesses and professions to “continue to comply with all sanctions’ obligations, including asset‑freezing requirements, the filing of Suspicious Transaction Reports and the reporting of all relevant matches to the appropriate authorities.”
“We commend the coordinated work of the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Department of State Services, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit,” the committee said. “Their actions are vital to ensuring that terrorist groups are denied the resources that sustain their activities.”
Industry observers say the OFAC designations can have immediate commercial consequences for targeted BDCs and correspondent banks that process remittances. “When entities are listed by OFAC, global banks and payment providers typically impose de‑risking measures quickly, which can disrupt legitimate cross‑border flows and raise compliance costs for the wider remittance sector,” said a compliance specialist at a major Nigerian bank.
The government defended the measures as necessary to safeguard national security and the financial sector. “Nigeria remains resolute in its commitment to ensuring that terrorists and their financiers find no safe haven within the country’s financial system,” the statement read. “We will continue to work closely with domestic stakeholders and international partners to protect national security, strengthen financial integrity and contribute to global efforts to combat terrorism and its financing.”
For banks and BDCs, the development reinforces the need for robust customer due diligence, transaction monitoring and timely reporting. Compliance officers will be watching for guidance from the Central Bank of Nigeria and other regulators on how to manage correspondent relationships and remediate any exposure arising from the listings.
