US freezes Assets Of Eight Nigerians Over Boko Haram, Cybercrime Links

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The United States Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned eight Nigerians over alleged links to terrorism and cybercrime, blocking any assets they hold under U.S. jurisdiction.

The action was announced in a February 10 update to the agency’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, a document that names individuals and organisations barred from financial dealings with U.S. persons.

According to the report, some of those listed were linked to Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, while another individual was sanctioned for cybercrime-related offences.

One of the sanctioned Nigerians, Salih Yusuf Adamu, was among six men convicted in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 for attempting to raise and transfer funds to Boko Haram fighters in Nigeria.

The sanctions mean that any property or financial interests belonging to the listed individuals within the United States are frozen, and Americans are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with them.

The development comes amid wider calls by some U.S. lawmakers for visa bans and asset freezes on certain Nigerian figures and groups over alleged religious freedom violations. Those mentioned in the recommendations include former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria.

In 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump also said Nigeria would be placed on a religious freedom watchlist, claiming Christians were facing persecution. Nigeria had earlier been designated a Country of Particular Concern in 2020, but the decision was later reversed by President Joe Biden after he took office.

U.S. officials say the sanctions are part of ongoing efforts to disrupt terrorism financing networks and strengthen global security measures.

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