The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is set to file charges against a suspect and companies allegedly linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria as part of an ongoing crackdown on terrorism financing in Nigeria.
The development comes amid renewed collaboration between Nigerian authorities and the United States to disrupt financial networks suspected to be supporting terrorist organisations, including the Islamic State West Africa Province.
A top EFCC source said the planned prosecution followed intelligence and investigations conducted by Nigerian security agencies in collaboration with international partners.
“The EFCC will soon file charges against a suspect and three companies linked with ISIS in the country. This is already concluded,” the source said.
The source added that the information recently disclosed by the United States was already known to Nigerian intelligence agencies before the U.S. government announced sanctions against some Nigerian individuals and entities.
The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, also confirmed that the commission had concluded preparations to prosecute suspects linked to ISIS and terrorism financing.
The development followed the decision of the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control to blacklist Nigerian businessman and Bureau De Change operator, Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, also known as Mukhtar Muhammad, alongside companies allegedly used as financial conduits for ISIS operations.
The affected companies include Nine to Nine Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited and Abbal Bako and Sons Bureau De Change Limited.
The U.S. Department of State said the sanctions formed part of a broader action targeting individuals and entities operating in France, Syria, Türkiye and Nigeria, accused of facilitating the movement of funds for ISIS-linked operations.
The sanctions freeze any assets or interests in property belonging to the designated individuals and entities within U.S. jurisdiction and generally prohibit U.S. persons from transacting with them.
Sources within the EFCC, however, said the commission was already investigating Muhammad and the companies for alleged terrorism financing before the U.S. designation.
“We investigated these individuals and the BDC companies for terrorism financing and were preparing charges against them when the U.S. indicted them,” one source said.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee, acting through the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, welcomed the U.S. sanctions, stating that the affected individuals and entities had already been placed on Nigeria’s sanctions list on June 18, 2026.
According to the committee, the designations followed months of intelligence gathering, financial investigations and inter-agency assessments, which established reasonable grounds to believe that the listed persons and entities facilitated, financed, supported or otherwise contributed to the activities of ISWAP and associated terrorist networks.
Those listed include Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Mukhtar Muhammad Adamu, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman and Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam.
The entities listed are Abbal Bako and Sons Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited and Nine to Nine Bureau De Change Limited.
The committee described the U.S. action as evidence of growing international cooperation in the fight against terrorism financing and said it would strengthen efforts to deny terrorist groups access to the global financial system.
It directed banks, other financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions to comply fully with sanctions obligations, including freezing assets linked to listed persons and entities, filing Suspicious Transaction Reports and reporting relevant matches to appropriate authorities.
The committee commended the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Department of State Services, the EFCC and the NFIU for their roles in investigating and disrupting financial networks linked to terrorism.
In a related development, the EFCC is also preparing to arraign Bello Abdullahi Bodejo of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore before the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged terrorism financing and money laundering involving $2.53 million.
The commission said it filed a 12-count charge against Bodejo on June 22, accusing him of receiving and possessing large sums of foreign currency allegedly linked to proceeds of unlawful activities, in violation of money laundering laws.
Bodejo is expected to take his plea in the coming days.
Court documents show that one of the counts alleges that Bodejo accepted $100,000 in cash from former Bauchi State Accountant-General, Sa’idu Abubakar, on January 11, 2022, without routing the transaction through a financial institution as required by law.
Another count alleges that he received $200,000 in cash from the same source on January 21, 2022, under similar circumstances.
The EFCC further alleged that Bodejo received $980,000 on February 7, 2024, and $500,000 on March 20, 2024, both in physical cash and above the legal threshold permitted under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
According to the charge, Bodejo also allegedly took possession of $980,000 under circumstances in which he knew, or reasonably ought to have known, that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The alleged offences are said to be punishable under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The Federal Government reiterated that terrorists and their financiers would find no safe haven within Nigeria’s financial system.
It said Nigeria would continue to work with domestic stakeholders and international partners to protect national security, strengthen financial integrity and prevent terrorist organisations from accessing resources needed to sustain their operations.
The post “No Safe Haven For Terror Financiers” — EFCC To Charge Suspect, BDC Firms Linked To ISIS As FG, U.S. Tighten Financial Crackdown appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.
