U.S. Sanctions Boko Haram Sponsors Amid Rising Violence in Nigeria

Africa, Crime Diary, North America, Politics

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ABUJA: The United States government has sanctioned eight individuals in Nigeria for alleged links to Boko Haram, the Islamist insurgent group responsible for widespread violence across Nigeria’s northeast, northwest, and north-central regions, as well as in the wider Lake Chad Basin covering Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Boko Haram, designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the U.S. in 2013, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions since its insurgency began in 2009.

The sanctions were announced in a publication by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which blocks the property and interests of designated persons. Among those listed is Salih Yusuf Adamu (a.k.a. Salihu Yusuf), born August 23, 1990, who was convicted in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 for establishing a Boko Haram cell to raise funds for insurgents in Nigeria. Others named include Babestan Oluwole Ademulero, Abu Abdullah ibn Umar Al-Barnawi, Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, Khaled Al-Barnawi, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, and Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Mainuki.

The U.S. indictment alleges that all sanctioned individuals actively participated in Boko Haram’s operations in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

This action follows the October 31, 2025, designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act, after reports that jihadist groups killed more than 7,000 Christians and abducted 7,800 others in the first seven months of 2025.

On December 25, 2025 (Christmas Day), the U.S. military launched Tomahawk missile strikes against suspected Islamic State (ISIS) camps in Sokoto State, northwest Nigeria. The operation, coordinated with the Nigerian government, targeted militants linked to the Islamic State–Sahel Province and its affiliate, Lakurawa. The U.S. Africa Command confirmed the strikes, describing them as aimed at “ISIS terrorists in Nigeria.”

In early 2026, the U.S. deployed a small team of troops to Nigeria, marking the first official American military presence on the ground in support of counterterrorism operations.