Nigeria’s central bank has ordered financial institutions to move swiftly to block funds tied to terrorism-financing designations, directing banks, payment service providers, and bureau de change operators to freeze affected accounts and economic resources. The instruction follows updated sanctions listings that apply immediately to regulated firms.
Quick facts
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ordered banks, payment service banks, and other regulated financial institutions to freeze all accounts, assets, and transactions linked to six individuals and four bureau de change operators.
- The CBN’s circular is dated June 24, 2026, with reference number CMD/FCS/PUB/CIR/002/011.
- The latest Nigeria Sanctions List update took effect on June 18, 2026 and is described as binding on all regulated institutions.
- Targeted parties include six named individuals and four BDC entities.
- The CBN said institutions must identify and freeze designated funds and other economic resources “without prior notice.”
- US sanctions were announced by OFAC against a Nigerian individual, Mukhtar Adamu, and three bureau de change companies over alleged financing links to ISWAP.
- Nigeria’s government subsequently published additional names, including six persons and three entities for terrorism-financing sanctions.
In the June 24 circular, the CBN cited the most recent update to the Nigeria Sanctions List, effective June 18, 2026, saying the update must be implemented right away by all regulated institutions. The central bank’s directive requires firms to locate and freeze, without advance warning, any funds, assets, or other economic resources belonging to, held by, or controlled by the designated persons and entities—directly or indirectly.
The move builds on earlier action by the United States Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which announced sanctions on Nigerian national Mukhtar Adamu and three bureau de change companies. OFAC said the designations were linked to alleged involvement in financing Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), an extremist group operating in parts of the region.
After the US announcement, the Nigerian government issued its own terrorism-financing sanctions list covering additional parties. The federal government’s publication named Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Babangida Muhammed, and Adamu Hammajam, along with Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency BDC Limited, and Nine to Nine BDC Limited.
Industry reaction
Industry representatives cautioned against a broad-brush interpretation of the sanctions. Aminu Gwadebe, president of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, said the indictment of the listed parties should not be taken as a signal that all bureau de change operators in the country are non-compliant.
Gwadebe argued that the “overwhelming majority” of licensed BDC operators follow Nigerian laws and regulatory requirements, even as the central bank’s order increases compliance pressure across the sector. For bureaux de change and other payment-related businesses, the practical impact is likely to be immediate: screening customers, tracing transactions, and ensuring designated funds are frozen in line with the central bank’s circular.
