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By Lizzy Chirkpi
Former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso has emerged among prominent Nigerians linked to the United States sanctions that has swept up companies such as Amigo Supermarket Limited and Wonderland Amusement Park and Resort Ltd, as Washington intensified its crackdown on terrorism financing and cybercrime tied to Nigeria.
The United States announced the anticipated financial restrictions through an updated sanctions register released on February 10 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The measures block all property and financial interests of the designated individuals and entities within US jurisdiction and prohibit Americans from conducting business with them.
“All property and interests in property of designated persons are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them,” OFAC said.
Those listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) include Khalid al-Barnawi, Abubakar Shekau, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, Abu Bakr al-Mainuki, Salihu Yusuf Adamu, Surajo Abubakar Muhammad, Abdurrahman Ado Musa, Bashir Ali Yusuf, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, and Ali Abbas Usman Jega.
OFAC said the individuals were connected to the planning, financing and execution of extremist violence.
“These designations are intended to disrupt terrorist networks and deny them access to the international financial system,” the agency noted.
Several Nigerians were also blacklisted for alleged large-scale cyber-enabled fraud, including Nnamdi Orson Benson, Abiola Ayorinde Kayode, Alex Afolabi Ogunshakin, Felix Osilama Okpoh, Micheal Olorunyomi, and Richard Izuchukwu Uzuh.
They were designated under OFAC’s cyber sanctions framework.
“Cyber-enabled crime threatens global financial stability and national security, and those responsible will continue to face isolation from the financial system,” OFAC warned.
Terror groups and Nigerian-linked companies were equally blacklisted. The sanctions also formally targeted extremist organisations including Boko Haram, Ansaru, and ISIS-West Africa.
Alongside Amigo Supermarket and Wonderland Amusement Park, another Nigeria-based firm, Kafak Enterprises Limited was accused of links to designated individuals.
Foreign-linked entities named in the update include Aurum Ship Management FZC and Jammal Trust Bank S.A.L..
“This publication serves as a reference tool providing actual notice of sanctions actions against individuals and entities whose property is blocked,” OFAC explained.
The sanctions come as Washington sharpens its focus on insecurity and extremist violence in Nigeria.
The United States Congress has recently pushed for visa bans and asset freezes against individuals and groups accused of religious persecution and security abuses.
In October 2025, US President Donald Trump again placed Nigeria on the State Department’s “Countries of Particular Concern” list over religious freedom concerns a designation earlier reversed under Joe Biden.
“The United States remains committed to cutting off funding for terrorism, combating cybercrime and holding violent actors accountable wherever they operate,” a Treasury official said.
The latest designations underscore Washington’s intensified campaign against extremist financing and transnational crime linked to Nigeria and the wider West African region.