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 terrorist financiers by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC).
The directive was contained in a circular issued to all Capital Market Regulated Entities (CMREs) on Friday, with the SEC saying the designations were made in accordance with the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA) 2022.
The six individuals 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, for alleged involvement in terrorism financing and support for the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Usman was listed for allegedly providing material support to a designated terrorist organisation through repeated financial transactions, while Abubakar was designated over alleged involvement in terrorism financing and membership of ISWAP.
The commission said Chiroma was designated for allegedly using Bureau De Change (BDC) 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 financing network of the ISWAP Okene cell.
Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim was also designated for allegedly providing material and financial support to the ISWAP Kogi cell.
The SEC said the three entities were listed over their alleged involvement in facilitating and channelling funds connected to the ISWAP Okene financing network.
The commission directed CMREs to immediately identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets and other economic resources belonging to the designated individuals and entities in their possession.
They 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 promptly file suspicious transaction reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for analysis of the financial activities.
It instructed capital market operators to treat all cases of name matches in financial transactions as suspicious, regardless of whether the transactions occurred before or after receipt of the sanctions list.
Operators must also prohibit dealings with the designated individuals and entities and maintain continuous monitoring for any transactions involving them.
The SEC said any relevant findings must be reported to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee through its designated reporting channel.
The directive takes immediate effect. The commission warned that failure to comply would amount to a violation of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, and the SEC Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Rules and Regulations.
According to the SEC, violations may attract regulatory sanctions, including fines, suspension of operations or revocation of registration.
The commission also reminded capital market operators that all unusual and suspicious transactions must be promptly reported to the NFIU.
