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BREAKING: FG identifies 15 terrorism financiers, orders sanctions

Published

2 years ago

March 20, 2024

Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN

Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice

BREAKING: FG identifies 15 terrorism financiers, orders sanctions

The Federal Government says it has uncovered the identity of 15 entities, including nine individuals and six Bureau De Change operators and firms, allegedly involved in terrorism financing.

Details of the development were revealed by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, in an email sent to our correspondent on Tuesday night, entitled “Designation of Individuals and Entities for March 18, 2024.”

The document revealed that the Nigeria Sanctions Committee met on March 18, 2024, where specific individuals and entities were recommended for sanction following their involvement in terrorism financing.

“The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, with the approval of the President, has thereupon designated the following individuals and entities to be listed on the Nigeria Sanctions List,” the document read in part.

Among the individuals named in the document was a Kaduna-based publisher, Tukur Mamu, who is currently being tried by the Federal Government for allegedly aiding the terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train in March 2022.

According to the document, Mamu “participated in the financing of terrorism by receiving and delivering ransome payments over the sum of $200,000 US in support of ISWAP terrorists for the release of hostages of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack.”

The document said one of the individuals is “the suspected attacker of the St. Francis Catholic Church Owo, Ondo State on June 5, 2022 and the Kuje Correctional Center, Abuja on July 5, 2022.”

Another was described as “a member of the terrorist group Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladissudam, the group is associated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

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“The subject was trained and served under Muktar Belmokhtar, aka One Eyed Out, led Al-Murabtoun Katibat of AQIM in Algeria and Mali.”

The NFIU said the individual “specialises in designing terrorist clandestine communication code and he is also Improvised Explosive Device expert.

“The subject was also a gate keeper to ANSARU leader, Mohammed Usman aka Khalid Al-Bamawi. Equally, he was a courier and travel guide to AQIM Katibat in the desert of Algeria and Mali. He is into carpentry. Subject fled Kuje correctional centre on July 5, 2022. He is currently at large.”

Another was identified as “a senior commander of the Islamic State of West Africa Province Okene.”

The agency said, the individual “came into limelight in 2012 as North Central wing of Boko Haram.

“The group is suspected of the attacks carried out around Federal Capital Territory and the South West Geographical Zone, including the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.”

Another was described as “a financial courier to ISWAP Okene. She is responsible for the disbursement of funds to the widows/wives of the terrorist fighters of the group.”

According to the document, another of the individuals “in 2015, transferred N60m to terrorism convicts.”

He was also said to have “received a sum of N189m between 2016 and 2018.”

The same person is said to “own entities and business reported in the UAE court judgment as facilitating the transfer of terrorist funds from Dubai to Nigeria.”

Another individual was said to have “received a total of N57m from between 2014 and 2017.”

Another was said to have “had a total inflow of N61.4 bn and a total outflow of N51.7bn from his accounts.”

The document further revealed that, in accordance with Section 54 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, institutions and individuals are required to:

“(a) immediately, identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and any other economic resources belonging to the designated persons and entities in your possession and report same to the Sanctions Committee;

“(b) report to the Sanctions Committee any assets frozen or actions taken in compliance with the prohibition requirements.

“(c) immediately file a Suspicious Transactions Report to the NFIU for further analysis on the financial activities of such an individual or entity; and

“(d) report as a Suspicious Transactions Report to the NFIU, all cases of name matching in financial transactions prior to or after receipt of this List. ”

It said the “The freezing obligation required above shall extend to

“(a) all funds or other assets that are owned or controlled by the designated persons and entities, and not only those that are tied to a particular act, plot, or threat of terrorism or terrorism financing;

“(b) those funds or other assets that are wholly or jointly owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by designated persons or entities;

“(c) the funds or other assets derived or generated from funds or other assets owned or controlled directly or indirectly by designated persons or entities; and

“(d) funds or other assets of persons and entities acting on behalf of, or at the direction of designated persons or entities.”

(PUNCH)

Related Topics:Featured financiers terrorism

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Missing Billions: Lawmakers Summon NNPCL and 146 Marketers Over ₦432bn Downstream Debt

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The liabilities consist of statutory fees meant to fund national energy infrastructure, including the 1% Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, National Transport Average fees, Balancing Allowances, and lingering credit balances from import and coastal operations.

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PAC Chairman, Rep. Bamidele Salam, made it clear that parliament expects compliance from corporate leaders, issuing a firm directive against corporate stonewalling.

Salam emphasized that the committee will scrutinize why statutory revenues were permitted to sit idle without vigorous enforcement from the NMDPRA. Defaulters will be forced to present audit trails detailing every transaction, outstanding balances, and proof of any remittances made to date.

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Fresh Blackout Hits Abuja as Apo Substation Transformer Trips

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2 hours ago

September 9, 2026

Hamdalat Bisiriyu

Parts of the nation’s capital have once again been plunged into darkness following an early-morning equipment failure at the Apo Transmission Substation on Wednesday.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) confirmed the outage, attributing the disruption to the tripping of a 100MVA TR4 power transformer at its 132kV/33kV facility. Preliminary findings trace the failure to an oil spillage on the transformer’s red-phase High Voltage (HV) bushing, which forced four critical 33kV feeders, H31, H33, H35, and H37 offline.

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In an official public notice, the transmission utility stated that technical teams are already mobilized on-site:

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, hereby informs the public that the 100MVA TR4 transformer at the 132/33kV Apo Transmission Substation tripped in the early hours of today. Our maintenance crew are already carrying out a detailed investigation on the transformer to ascertain the exact cause of the tripping, to enable us effect repairs and restore the transformer.”

Following the grid disruption, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) confirmed power losses across several major districts, including the Apo Legislative Quarters, Lokogoma, and Apo Resettlement.

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Yamal Fires Back at Mbappé: “I’m Not Going to Beg” for Ballon d’Or

Published

22 hours ago

September 8, 2026

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Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal

Yamal Fires Back at Mbappé: “I’m Not Going to Beg” for Ballon d’Or

The 19-year-old Spain international insists his World Cup and La Liga triumphs speak for themselves, while also being named one of Barcelona’s vice-captains ahead of the October 26 ceremony.

Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal has made it clear that he will not campaign or “beg” for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, stating that his achievements on the pitch for club and country should speak for themselves. Speaking ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League opener against Feyenoord, the 19-year-old responded to comments from rival Kylian Mbappé, who had previously made his case for the award by highlighting his World Cup Golden Boot win, which also saw him become the competition’s all-time top goalscorer.

“I don’t think I need to campaign for the Ballon d’Or. I’m not thinking about what I deserve, everyone can think what they like,” Yamal told reporters. “I’m proud of everything I’ve done this year with my club and with the national team. We’ve become world champions, we’ve won the league again. I can’t ask for anything more. I think I’ve shown an incredible level, it’s your job and I will not beg for anything.”

The Spanish international, who finished second in last year’s voting behind PSG’s Ousmane Dembélé, is among the leading contenders for the prize alongside Mbappé, Harry Kane, Dembélé, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The ceremony is scheduled for October 26 in London. Yamal was officially named among the 30 nominees for the 2026 men’s Ballon d’Or when France Football unveiled the list on Tuesday, marking his third nomination.

When asked about Dembélé’s recent comments naming Kvaratskhelia, Kane, and Mbappé as his top three, Yamal joked: “He’s a friend of Kylian, right? Honestly, I don’t care. I’m very happy with the year I had. Whenever I’ve faced both of them, I’ve won. They must have taken a dislike to me for some reason.” Spain knocked France out of the World Cup semi-finals with a convincing 2-0 victory.

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Yamal, who suffered a hamstring injury in April, has returned to form with two goals in his last two outings against Rayo Vallecano and Valencia, and appeared far more cheerful after a difficult start to the season. “In the end, I’m 19, coming off winning a World Cup, having had the best holidays of my life. I’ve never been happier at any point in my life than I am now,” he said.

Beyond individual honours, Yamal emphasised that Barcelona’s primary target this season is the Champions League trophy, a title that has eluded the Catalan giants since 2015. “There’s no greater motivation than the Champions League, which is the one I still have to win. We will give our all to win it,” Yamal said ahead of Wednesday’s opener against Feyenoord. “Good players have arrived, like Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, Rodri.”

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick praised the young star, saying: “Lamine is a player who can decide games on his own, fantastic quality. It’s great, you can see it every day how he is enjoying playing football. For me the best thing is that he enjoys this game and then he’s on a top level.”

Yamal is also the favourite to win a third consecutive best young player award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, having been one of 10 players nominated on Tuesday, including Johan Manzambi, Yan Diomande, and Ayyoub Bouaddi, who all impressed at the World Cup and were then the subject of big-money summer transfers.

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