The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered all capital market operators to immediately freeze funds, assets and other economic resources linked to six individuals and three entities newly designated by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) as alleged terrorist financiers in the latest escalation of Nigeria’s crackdown on illicit financial flows.

The directive, contained in a circular issued to all Capital Market Regulated Entities (CMREs), followed the designation of the individuals and entities under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA) 2022 and their inclusion on the Nigeria Sanctions List.

The SEC directed regulated entities to act without prior notice and report all frozen assets, attempted transactions and other compliance actions to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.

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 (BDC).

According to the SEC, the individuals were designated for alleged involvement in terrorism financing, providing material or financial support to terrorist organisations and facilitating transactions linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), including its Okene and Kogi cells.

The three BDC entities were similarly listed for their alleged involvement in facilitating or channelling funds connected to the ISWAP Okene financing network.

The latest directive comes against the backdrop of an earlier sanctions exercise in which the SEC ordered the freezing of assets belonging to 10 individuals and three entities allegedly linked to terrorism financing across Nigeria’s capital market.

The earlier action followed their designation by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee and addition to the Nigeria Sanctions List under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The 10 individuals named in that earlier list included Abdurrahaman Musa Ado, Bashir Ali Yusuf, Ibrahim Ali, Alhassan Muhammad Ibrahim, Isah Salihu Yusuf Adamu, also known as Babangida Adamu, Surajo Abubakar, Mohammad Fannami, Alhaji Bukar Muhammed Musa Sahabi, Ismail Mohammed Saleh and Buba.

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The three entities named were Alin Yar Yaya General Enterprises, Are Nigeria Limited and Suhailah Bashir General Enterprises.

The earlier sanctions exercise imposed measures including asset freezes, travel restrictions and an arms embargo, according to the sanctions notice.

The SEC’s latest circular reinforces the obligations of capital market operators to identify and block financial resources connected to persons or entities appearing on Nigeria’s sanctions list.

Under the new directive, CMREs are required to immediately file suspicious transaction reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for further analysis of financial activities involving the designated persons and entities.

They must also report all cases of name matching in financial transactions as suspicious transactions to the NFIU, whether such transactions occurred before or after receipt of the sanctions list.

The commission further ordered operators to subsequently prohibit dealings with the designated persons and entities and continue monitoring for transactions involving them.

“CMREs are to continue to check for transactions relating to the designated persons and entities and report findings to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee,” the SEC stated.

The regulator warned that the directive takes immediate effect and that failure to comply constitutes a violation of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, and the SEC AML/CFT Rules and Regulations.

Such violations, it said, could attract fines, suspension of operations or revocation of registration.

The SEC also reminded market participants that all unusual or suspicious transactions must be promptly reported to the NFIU.

The intensified sanctions enforcement comes as Nigeria strengthens its regulatory framework for combating money laundering and terrorism financing in the capital market.

The Investments and Securities Act, 2025, which repealed and replaced the Investments and Securities Act No. 29 of 2007, provides the current legal framework for the regulation and supervision of Nigeria’s capital market.

The latest SEC circular was published on August 12, 2026, while the designations referenced in the notice were made by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee in June 2026.