The United States has frozen the assets and properties of eight Nigerians accused of having links to the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

This was contained in a 3,000-page document dated February 10, released by the United States Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and sighted by the correspondent on Monday.

The document also identified individuals sanctioned for cybercrime-related offences and other security threats.

The pronouncement comes on the heels of recent recommendations by the US Congress for visa bans and asset freezes on persons and groups accused of violations of religious freedom and persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

The former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso; the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria; and Miyetti Allah Kautal were recommended by United States lawmakers for visa bans and asset freezes.

The OFAC document, titled “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,” detailed individuals of other nationalities and entities whose assets had been frozen, serving as a reference tool.

It also provided notice of actions taken against Specially Designated Nationals, whose property and interests were blocked as part of counter-terrorism efforts.

According to OFAC, the move forms part of its broader efforts to block the property and interests of Specially Designated Nationals and prevent financial dealings with them.

“This publication of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is designed as a reference tool providing actual notice of actions by OFAC with respect to Specially Designated Nationals and other persons (which term includes both individuals and entities) whose property is blocked, to assist the public in complying with the various sanctions programmes administered by OFAC,” the agency said.

Among those listed is Salih Yusuf Adamu, also known as Salihu Yusuf, born on August 23, 1990, in Nigeria. Yusuf was identified as having ties to Boko Haram and was reported to hold a Nigerian passport.

Yusuf was among six Nigerians convicted in 2022 for setting up a Boko Haram cell in the United Arab Emirates to raise funds for insurgents in Nigeria. The six men were convicted in the UAE for attempting to send $782,000 from Dubai to Nigeria.

Another individual, Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, born on March 4, 1953, in Nigeria, was designated under SDNTK sanctions. He appeared under several aliases, including Wole A. Babestan and Olatunde Irewole Shofeso.

Also designated was Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi, also known as Ba Idrisa. He was reportedly born between 1989 and 1994 in Maiduguri, Borno State, and was flagged under terrorism-related sanctions.

Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, also referred to as Habib Yusuf, was listed with varying birth years between 1990 and 1995. He was identified as a Boko Haram leader and sanctioned under terrorism provisions.

Khaled (or Khalid) Al-Barnawi, whose name appeared twice in the publication, was born in 1976 in Maiduguri, Nigeria. He was linked to Boko Haram and listed under several aliases, including Abu Hafsat and Mohammed Usman.

Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, born January 31, 1981, in Nigeria, was listed with a Nigerian passport. He was reported to reside in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and was linked to Boko Haram.

Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Mainuki, also known as Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, was born in 1982 in Mainok, Borno State. He was identified as having ties to ISIL.

Nnamdi Orson Benson, born March 21, 1987, in Nigeria, was listed under CYBER2 sanctions and was reported to hold a Nigerian passport.

The inclusion of these names in the OFAC list highlights Washington’s continued focus on countering terrorism financing and cyber threats.

The sanctions mean that all property and interests of these individuals within US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

Nigerians listed under the US Treasury sanctions face asset freezes under Executive Order 13224.

The United States officially designated Boko Haram a foreign terrorist organisation in 2013. According to the US State Department, the group is responsible for numerous attacks in the northern and northeastern regions of the country, as well as in the Lake Chad Basin in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, that have killed thousands of people since 2009.

The US Secretary of State determines countries that have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.

Such countries are designated under three laws: Section 1754(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, Section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, and Section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

In October 2025, for the second time, US President Donald Trump announced that Nigeria would be added to the US Department of State’s list of “Countries of Particular Concern.”

Trump, in a post on X, explained that Nigeria would be placed on a religious freedom watchlist, alleging that Christians were facing persecution and being killed by Muslims.

Nigeria was first designated as a Country of Particular Concern in 2020 under President Trump, but former President Joe Biden removed Nigeria from the list shortly after assuming office.

Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says he will ensure that only candidates aligned with President Bola Tinubu win the February 21 area council election.

Wike spoke on Saturday in Abuja during the 60th birthday celebration of Sandy Onor, a former senator who represented Cross River Central.

The minister said party affiliation would not influence his decision in the council elections, adding that his support will be for candidates backing the president.

“We have the FCT area council election coming up on February 21, and I have a duty to support any candidate that supports President Tinubu to win,” Wike said.

“It is also my duty to ensure that any candidate who is not supporting Tinubu does not win in the election, and I owe no apology for my stance.”

Ahead of the election, candidates have demanded a free and fair process with equal opportunity for all.

In January, Moses Paul, a candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), appealed to Wike to support his candidacy.

Paul said he shares the minister’s views on performance-driven governance, and described himself as “Mr Project”, a moniker associated with Wike when he was governor of Rivers.

The ADC candidate said he has addressed community needs within AMAC by supporting the renovation of primary schools and improvements to primary healthcare centres.

Christopher Maikalangu, chairman of AMAC, was elected in 2022 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Maikalangu defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in April 2025 and is seeking re-election.

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a China-based Nigerian businessman, Vincent Chukwudulue, and two Angolan citizens — Mbandu Martins Makiadi and Ngoma Wilson Fernando.

Disclosing this in a statement on Sunday via X, NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said the suspects excreted a total of 236 wraps of cocaine following the arrests at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, respectively.

Babafemi stated that Ibeanu was arrested on Wednesday while on board a Qatar Airways flight 1432, from Kano to China enroute Abuja/Doha.

Acting on credible intelligence, Babafemi stated that NDLEA operatives at the Abuja airport demanded that the suspect be deboarded, following which he was taken for a body scan, with the result confirming that the suspect ingested an illicit drug.

The suspect was thereafter placed under observation during which he excreted a total of 52 pellets of cocaine that weighed 735.95 grams.

According to the anti-narcotics agency, Ibeanu, in his statement, said he was into business on Lagos Island before relocating to Guangzhou, China, in 2024.

He further explained that the duo of Mbandu Martins Makiadi, 50, and Ngoma Wilson Fernando, 52, both Angolans, were intercepted on Wednesday at the screening point of the departure hall of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, during the outward clearance of passengers going to Istanbul, Turkey via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940.

“When they were taken for a body scan, they tested positive for ingesting an illicit drug. As a result, they were kept under observation for possible excretion. While Mbandu excreted a total of 76 wraps weighing 920 grams in seven excretions, Ngoma expelled 108 pellets that weighed 1.33 kilograms in five excretions.

“During the interview, the suspects who hail from Hoji Ya Henda in Luanda, the capital of Angola, claimed they were recruited by a Luanda-based automobile spare parts dealer who promised to pay them $3000 each upon successful delivery of the consignments in Turkey,” Babafemi said.

An attempt by a convicted drug kingpin, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, to export 1.10 kilograms of cocaine concealed in processed cassava granules, popularly known as Garri, to London, United Kingdom, on a Virgin Atlantic flight, has been thwarted by NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos.

Olashupo is presently serving a five-year jail term at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, Lagos, after NDLEA arrested him in 2025 in connection with a case of unlawful conspiracy to export 17.90kg cocaine, and was successfully prosecuted, convicted and sentenced in charge number FHC/L/925C/2025, by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

Not ready to give up on his criminal enterprise, the convict, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Dimeji Express Logistics, located at 20 Omilade Street, Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos, initiated the latest scheme from behind the prison wall to export the 1.10kg cocaine, using his company.

His lid was, however, uncovered on Thursday, 12th February, when NDLEA officers at the export shed of the Lagos airport intercepted a consignment of compressed block of cocaine, hidden in a sack of Garri which was further packed inside a carton.

A staff member of Dimeji Express Logistics, Adedeji Yusuf Gbolahan, who presented the consignment for export, was promptly arrested. Investigations revealed that Olashupo Michael Oladimeji initiated the trafficking scheme from prison and directed Yusuf to pick tup he consignment at a location in Oshodi.

A similar attempt by a 44-year-old estate surveyor, Adelaja Taiwo Adetayo, to export 1.70 kilograms of skunk concealed in five jerry cans to the UK, was equally frustrated by NDLEA operatives at the export shed of the Lagos airport.

The cargo agent, Mustapha Quddus Opeyemi, who presented the consignment for export, was initially arrested while a follow-up operation led to the arrest of Adelaja atthe Ahmadiyya area of Lagos on Monday, 9th February.

In Abuja, NDLEA operatives on Thursday,y 12th February intercepted a waybill package sent from Enugu containing a children’s toy guitar.

A search of the guitar revealed that it was used to conceal two parcels of Canadian Loud, a strain of Cannabis, weighing 59.2grams. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Henry Onuma at Dream City Estate, Life Camp.

In Lagos, NDLEA officers on Friday, 13th February, raided a 4-bedroom duplex at 2 Alexandria Terrace, Ikate-Elegushi, Lekki, used for the production and storage of Colorado, a synthetic cannabis.

The raid followed the seizure of 73 cartons of nitrous oxide at Iyare Motor Park, Ajah–Epe expressway, a consignment intended for Benin City, Edo State. The driver of the vehicle moving the shipment, Amos Innocent, was arrested while Victor Oyedeji was nabbed at the Lekki home, where 13.2 kilograms of freshly produced Colos were recovered in addition to precursor chemicals.

A notorious female drug dealer in Ibadan, Oyo State, Oluwayemisi Bunmi, 45, was arrested on Wednesday, 11th February, at her enclave in Hope Alakia area of the state capital. Recovered from her include: 1.189kg Colos, skunk; 320grams of methamphetamine; a monetary exhibit of ₦2,975,000 and two cars: a Navy blue Toyota Matrix car marked JJJ 629 FQ and a Sky blue Toyota Matrix car with registration number LND 602 AQ.

No fewer than 105,400 pills of tramadol were recovered from a suspect, Kamilu Abdullahi, 43, when his J5 vehicle marked DTM-765XA, was intercepted by NDLEA operatives at Bode Saadu area of Kwara state on Thursday, 12th February.

In Edo State, five suspects: Murtala Mohammed, 37; Abdulkadir Idris Mohammed, 29; Ufoma Edafe, 40; Anthony Aghati, 46; and Emmanuel Owalu Ekele, 39, were arrested on Saturday, 14th February,y when NDLEA operatives raided the Yoruba Camp, Olumoye Forest, in Ovia North East LGA, where 563.5 kilograms of skunk were recovered.

While commending the officers and men of the MAKIA, MMIA, NAIA, Lagos, Edo, Kwara, FCT, and Oyo Commands for the arrests, seizures and their professionalism, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue the current balanced approach to their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.