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By Godswill Michael
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered 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 commission issued the directive in a circular to all Capital Market Regulated Entities (CMREs) on Friday, saying the designations were made in line 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.
The SEC said Hammajam was listed on June 18, 2026, “for involvement in terrorism financing and support for the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).”
It said Usman was designated for “providing material support to a designated terrorist organisation through repeated financial transactions.”
The commission also said Abubakar was listed for involvement in terrorism financing and membership of ISWAP, while 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.
According to the SEC, Muktar Muhammad Adamu was listed on June 15, 2026, for “providing financial support and facilitating transactions linked to the financing network of the ISWAP Okene cell.”
It said Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim was designated for “providing material and financial support to the ISWAP Kogi cell.”
The commission said the three entities were listed for their alleged involvement in “facilitating and channelling funds connected to the ISWAP Okene financing network.”
Following the designations, the SEC directed CMREs to “immediately identify and freeze, without prior notice,” all funds, assets and other economic resources in their possession belonging to the designated persons and entities.
The operators must also report frozen assets and other compliance actions, including attempted transactions, to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.
Beyond the asset freeze, the SEC directed regulated entities to immediately file suspicious transaction reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for further analysis of the financial activities.
The commission also instructed operators to report as suspicious all cases of name matches in financial transactions, “whether occurring before or after receipt of the sanctions list.”
The SEC further ordered capital market operators to prohibit dealings with the designated individuals and entities and maintain continuous monitoring for transactions involving them.
It said, “any findings should be reported to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee through its designated reporting channel.”
The directive takes immediate effect and forms part of Nigeria’s efforts to prevent the financial system from being used to fund terrorism and related activities.
The SEC’s action places capital market operators under an immediate obligation to implement the sanctions against the designated individuals and entities, report attempted transactions and alert the financial intelligence authorities to suspicious financial activities.
The commission warned that failure to comply with the directive would constitute 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 could attract regulatory sanctions, including fines, suspension of operations or revocation of registration.
The commission also reminded capital market operators that “all unusual or suspicious transactions must be promptly reported to the NFIU.”