The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has directed capital market operators to immediately freeze the funds, assets and other economic resources belonging to six individuals and three entities designated as terrorism financiers by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC).
The directive was contained in a circular issued to all Capital Market Regulated Entities (CMREs), pursuant to the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA) 2022.
The six individuals designated are Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Ibrahim Abubakar, Adamu Chiroma, Muktar Muhammad Adamu and Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim.
The three entities are Nine to Nine BDC Ltd, Generation Currency BDC Ltd and Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau de Change.
According to the SEC, Hammajam was designated on June 18, 2026, over alleged involvement in terrorism financing and support for the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), while Usman was listed for allegedly providing material support to a designated terrorist organisation through repeated financial transactions.
The commission said Abubakar was designated for alleged involvement in terrorism financing and membership of ISWAP, while Chiroma was listed for allegedly using Bureau de Change operations and related corporate entities to facilitate the movement of funds linked to terrorist activities.
Muktar Muhammad Adamu was designated on June 15, 2026, for allegedly providing financial support and facilitating transactions linked to the ISWAP Okene cell financing network, while Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim was listed for allegedly providing material and financial support to the ISWAP Kogi cell.
The SEC said the three designated entities were similarly listed over their alleged involvement in facilitating and channelling funds connected to the ISWAP Okene financing network.
The commission directed CMREs to identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets and other economic resources belonging to the designated persons and entities in their possession. Operators are also required to report frozen assets, attempted transactions and other compliance actions to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.
The SEC further directed regulated entities to file suspicious transaction reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for further analysis of the financial activities of the designated persons and entities.
It also instructed operators to report as suspicious any financial transaction involving a name match with persons or entities on the sanctions list, regardless of whether the transaction occurred before or after receipt of the list.
Capital market operators are required to prohibit dealings with the designated persons and entities and maintain continuous monitoring for transactions involving them. Any findings are to be reported to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee through its designated reporting channel.
The SEC said the circular takes immediate effect, warned that failure to comply would constitute a violation of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, as well as the SEC Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Rules and Regulations.
It added that violations could attract regulatory sanctions, including fines, suspension of operations or revocation of registration, while reminding capital market operators that all unusual or suspicious transactions must be promptly reported to the NFIU.
