Freeze Assets Of 9 Designated Individuals/Entities, SEC Orders Operators

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered capital market operators across Nigeria to immediately identify, freeze and report any funds and assets linked to nine individuals and entities recently added to the Nigeria Sanctions List for alleged terrorism financing.

In a circular signed by SEC management on June 26, 2026 and published on the commission’s website on Wednesday, the regulator instructed Capital Market-Regulated Entities (CMREs) to act without prior notice in accordance with the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA), 2022. The directive follows designations made by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) under the TPPA.

“The Nigeria Sanctions Committee has designated six (6) individuals and three (3) entities as terrorist financiers and subsequently added them to the Nigeria Sanctions List,” the circular said, directing CMREs to “immediately identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and any other economic resources in their possession belonging to the designated individuals and entities and report same to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.”

The SEC named six individuals: Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam (described by the regulator as a prominent businessman), Abdullahi Umar Usman, Ibrahim Abubakar, Adamu Chiroma, Muktar Muhammad Adamu and Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim. Three bureau-de-change operators were also listed: Nine 2 Nine BDC Ltd, Generation Currency BDC Ltd and Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau de Change.

According to the SEC notice, the designations stem from alleged roles in financing and facilitating funds for the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and related cells. The commission said Hammajam was added to the sanctions list on June 18 for alleged involvement in terrorism financing and support for ISWAP. Usman was designated for alleged repeated financial transactions providing material support to a designated terrorist organisation, while Ibrahim Abubakar was listed for alleged financing activity and alleged ISWAP membership.

Chiroma was said to have channelled funds through BDC operations and corporate entities, the SEC said, with his listing dated June 18. Muktar Muhammad Adamu was listed on June 15 over alleged financial support linked to the ISWAP Okene cell, while Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim was listed on June 18 for alleged material and financial support to the ISWAP Kogi cell. The three BDC firms were designated on June 15 for allegedly facilitating or channeling funds connected to the ISWAP Okene financing network.

Beyond freezing assets, the SEC ordered CMREs to notify the NSC Secretariat of any frozen assets and to report attempted or matched transactions involving the designated names. The commission also requires CMREs to file suspicious transaction reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for further analysis.

The circular emphasized ongoing transaction surveillance, instructing regulated firms to halt dealings with the listed individuals and entities and to promptly report any unusual or suspicious activity to the NFIU.

Legal and regulatory consequences

The SEC said the directive takes immediate effect and warned that failure to comply would constitute a breach of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025 and its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Rules and Regulations. Sanctions for non-compliance may include fines, suspension of operations or revocation of registration.

Context: coordinated action by authorities

The SEC’s action extends recent steps by both domestic and international authorities to choke suspected terrorist financing channels. On June 23, the United States Treasury publicly identified three individuals and six entities it alleges are linked to Islamic State financing, including several BDC operators. Two days later the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ordered banks to freeze accounts of customers tied to terrorism financing. The SEC’s directive brings capital market firms into the enforcement perimeter, obliging them to identify, immobilise and report financial links to the newly designated names.

Industry participants now face immediate compliance tasks: checking client records and transaction histories against the sanctioned names, freezing any matching funds or assets, filing reports with the NSC and NFIU, and enhancing transaction monitoring to capture future attempts. The SEC’s circular also signals heightened regulatory scrutiny on bureau de change operations and any corporate structures used to move funds across formal and informal channels.

The NSC Secretariat and the NFIU will review the reports and determine follow-up enforcement or investigative actions. The SEC warned it will apply its regulatory powers where capital market operators fail to observe the directive, while law enforcement and intelligence agencies may pursue criminal investigations where warranted.