The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has directed capital market operators to immediately freeze funds, assets and other economic resources belonging to six individuals and three entities designated by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) over alleged terrorism financing.
The directive was contained in a circular issued to Capital Market Regulated Entities (CMREs) on Friday under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA) 2022.
The individuals listed 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 over alleged involvement in terrorism financing and support for ISWAP, while Usman was listed for allegedly providing material support to a designated terrorist organisation through repeated financial transactions.
The commission said Abubakar was designated over alleged terrorism financing and ISWAP membership, while Chiroma was listed for allegedly using Bureau de Change operations and related companies to facilitate the movement of funds connected to terrorist activities.
Muktar Muhammad Adamu was designated for allegedly providing financial support and facilitating transactions linked to the ISWAP Okene financing network, while Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim was listed over alleged material and financial support to the ISWAP Kogi cell.
The SEC said the three entities were designated for their alleged role in facilitating and channelling funds connected to the ISWAP Okene financing network.
Under the directive, regulated capital market operators must identify and freeze the affected funds, assets and economic resources without prior notice and report the frozen assets, attempted transactions and other compliance actions to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.
Operators were also directed to file suspicious transaction reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for further analysis.
The SEC instructed financial operators to treat name matches involving the designated persons and entities as suspicious, regardless of whether the transactions occurred before or after the sanctions list was received.
The commission further directed operators to prohibit dealings with the listed individuals and entities and maintain continued monitoring for any transactions involving them.
The directive takes immediate effect. The SEC warned that failure to comply could constitute a violation of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, and its Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations.
Violations could result in regulatory penalties, including fines, suspension of operations or revocation of registration.
Source: Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
