The United States has sanctioned eight Nigerians over alleged links to the extremist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), freezing their assets and financial interests under US jurisdiction.
The sanctions were announced in a 3,000-page report dated February 10 and released by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
In the document titled “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,” OFAC stated that the publication “is designed as a reference tool providing actual notice of actions taken with respect to Specially Designated Nationals and other persons whose property is blocked.”
The agency added that the measures form part of broader counterterrorism efforts, noting that the action is intended “to assist the public in complying with the various sanctions programmes administered by OFAC.”
The development follows recent recommendations by US lawmakers urging visa bans and asset freezes against individuals and groups accused of religious freedom violations and the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
Among those reportedly recommended by lawmakers were former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.
According to the OFAC list, Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, born August 23, 1990, “is linked to Boko Haram” and holds a Nigerian passport. He was previously among six Nigerians convicted in 2022 in the United Arab Emirates for establishing a Boko Haram fundraising cell that attempted to transfer $782,000 from Dubai to Nigeria.
Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, born March 4, 1953, was designated under terrorism sanctions and listed under multiple aliases. Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi, also known as Ba Idrisa, reportedly born between 1989 and 1994 in Maiduguri, Borno State, was also sanctioned under terrorism-related provisions.
Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, also referred to as Habib Yusuf and described as a Boko Haram leader, was included on the list with varying reported birth years between 1990 and 1995.
Khaled (or Khalid) Al-Barnawi, born in 1976 in Maiduguri, appeared twice in the publication under several aliases, including Abu Hafsat and Mohammed Usman, and was cited for alleged ties to Boko Haram.
Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, born January 31, 1981, was listed as holding a Nigerian passport and residing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and was also linked to Boko Haram.
Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Mainuki, also known as Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, born in 1982 in Mainok, Borno State, was identified as having alleged connections to ISIL.
Nnamdi Orson Benson, born March 21, 1987, was designated under cyber-related sanctions and listed as holding a Nigerian passport.
Explaining the implications of the sanctions, OFAC stated that “all property and interests in property of designated persons that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked,” adding that “US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions” with those listed.
The US formally designated Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organisation in 2013. According to the US State Department, the group has been responsible for “numerous attacks in northern and northeastern Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin” since 2009, resulting in thousands of deaths.
In October 2025, US President Donald Trump announced that Nigeria would again be placed on the State Department’s list of “Countries of Particular Concern” over religious freedom concerns.
In a post on X, Trump said Nigeria would be added to a religious freedom watchlist, alleging that “Christians are being persecuted and killed.”