Banks Get 48 Hours To Report Frozen Terror-Linked Accounts
Banks and other financial institutions across Nigeria have been ordered to immediately freeze all accounts, funds and assets belonging to six individuals and four Bureau de Change operators designated for terrorism financing, as regulators move to disrupt money channels linked to the Islamic State network.
The directive came in a circular dated June 24, 2026, referenced CMD/FCS/PUB/CIR/002/011, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Compliance Department and signed on behalf of its director by Olubunmi Ayodele-Oni. It was addressed to all banks, Payment Service Banks and other institutions regulated under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020.
The sanctions were issued by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee and the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended, which targets terrorism and terrorism financing. The CBN said the Nigeria Sanctions List was updated on June 18, 2026, and that the designations were binding and required immediate implementation.
The six designated persons are Muktar Muhammad Adamu, Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Ibrahim Abubakar, Adamu Chiroma and Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim. The four operators named as owned or controlled by them are Generation Currency, Manhattan, Nine to Nine Exchange and Abbal Bako & Sons Bureaux de Change.
The action followed a fresh OFAC designation earlier in the week. US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said a Nigerian, Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, was among three individuals and six entities sanctioned for allegedly facilitating ISIS financing across Europe, the Middle East and West Africa. According to the listings, the three Nigerian operators are registered in Lagos and Kano and tied to the Mukhtar Adamu/ISIS network.
The CBN directed institutions to freeze, without prior notice, all resources controlled directly or indirectly by the designated parties, including any entity in which they hold 50 per cent or more ownership. Banks were told to screen all customers and transactions against the updated list, file Suspicious Transaction Reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, and submit compliance reports, including nil returns, within 48 hours.
The regulator further ordered intensified monitoring of red flags such as structured transactions, rapid fund movement, informal transfer channels and dealings with high-risk jurisdictions. It warned that false or misleading information would constitute a regulatory violation attracting sanctions under BOFIA 2020.
The directive lands at a delicate moment for Nigeria’s financial reputation. At the FATF plenary in Paris on October 24, 2025, Nigeria was removed from the grey list after completing a 19-point action plan to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework. It was the country’s exit from a list it had appeared on three times, from 2001 to 2006, 2010 to 2013, and most recently from 2023. Swift enforcement of fresh designations is widely seen as central to keeping Nigeria off that watchlist.
Industry players have urged caution against broad stigmatisation. The President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadebe, cautioned against generalising the actions of a few operators to the entire industry, noting that the overwhelming majority of licensed operators comply with regulatory requirements.
The CBN said it would verify compliance through off-site reviews, on-site examinations and supervisory engagements, stressing that the directive takes immediate effect.