The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered all banks, payment service banks, and other financial institutions to immediately freeze the accounts and assets of six individuals and four Bureau De Change operators linked to alleged terrorism financing.
The directive, contained in a circular dated June 24, 2026, with reference number CMD/FCS/PUB/CIR/002/011, applies to all regulated financial institutions across the country and follows the latest update to the Nigeria Sanctions List, which took effect on June 18, 2026.
The CBN instructed financial institutions to identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and economic resources belonging to, or controlled by, the designated persons and entities — in line with Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
The directive comes days after the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a Nigerian national, Mukhtar Adamu, and three Bureau De Change firms for alleged involvement in financing the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). The Federal Government subsequently updated the Nigeria Sanctions List, designating six individuals and three BDC companies.
The individuals named on the sanctions list are Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Babangida Muhammed, and Adamu Hammajam.
The BDC operators listed are Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency BDC Limited, and Nine to Nine BDC Limited.
Responding to the development, the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadebe, urged against painting the entire industry with the same brush, stressing that the overwhelming majority of licensed BDC operators comply with Nigerian laws and regulatory requirements.
The CBN said all regulated institutions are expected to fully implement the directive as part of Nigeria’s broader push to combat terrorism financing, money laundering, and other financial crimes.
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