UPDATED: Nigerian govt releases updated list of terrorism financiers

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The Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NIGSAC) has released an updated list of terrorism financiers.

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The list, published on the committee’s website, includes 48 individuals and armed groups operating across Nigeria.

Among those listed were Tukur Mamu, the publisher of Desert Herald, who took the lead in negotiating the release of hostages kidnapped during the 2022 Abuja–Kaduna train attack. Mr Mamu is already being prosecuted for terrorism financing but has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Groups like Boko Haram (also known as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad), its breakaway faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were also listed as terrorism financiers.

The updated list

The updated list includes 42 individuals and six [armed] groups. Apart from Boko Haram, ISWAP and IPOB, other groups designated are Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan (popularly known as Ansaru), yan taádda and yan bindiga. The last two groups fall in the category of rural terrorists, loosely referred to as bandits.

However, PREMIUM TIMES observed that many of the names on the updated list had been identified as terrorism financiers between 2020 and 2025.

Nigeria has been battling with terrorism, especially in the North-east where Boko Haram insurgency has lingered for more than a decade. While insurgent groups like Boko Haram finance their operations through kidnapping for ransom and other illicit economic activities such as mining and logging, authorities have argued that they are also being sponsored or aided by some individuals.

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The first time suspected terrorism financiers in Nigeria were named was in 2020 when a court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) convicted six Nigerians for allegedly funding Boko Haram. Those convicted at the time were Surajo Muhammad, Yusuf Adamu, Ibrahim Alhassan, AbdurRahman Musa, Bashir Yusuf and Muhammad Isa. While the first two were sentenced to life imprisonment, the four others bagged 10-year jail terms.

In 2024, the Nigerian government updated the list with 19 names including Mr Mamu and six business entities. Also, last year, the government added to the list the leader of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE), Simon Ekpa, and 13 members of IPOB or BRGIE. These include Godstime Iyare, Francis Mmaduabuchi, John Onwumere, Chikwuka Eze, Edwin Chukwuedo, Chinwendu Owoh and Ginika Orji. Others are Awo Uchechukwu, Mercy Ali, Ohagwu Juliana, Eze Okpoto, Nwaobi Chimezie and Ogomu Kewe.

Mr Ekpa, who has been convicted in Finland, was designated for raising funds for violent activities of armed groups in the South-east where the Eastern Security Network, the armed wing of IPOB, has been reigning terror since the arrest and incarceration of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

While IPOB and Lakurawa were added to the list in 2025, two business entities—Igwe Ka Ala Enterprises and Seficuvi Global Company—were also designated.

In its previous designations, the committee, chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, explained that its action was in line with Section 54 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

It had recommended, among other things, an immediate identification and freezing of assets belonging to the designated persons.