Six Nigerians have been sanctioned by the US for supporting the terrorist group Boko Haram.
The individuals are Abdurrahman Ado Musa, Salihu Yusuf Adamu, Bashir Ali Yusuf, Muhammed Ibrahim Isa, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, and Surajo Abubakar Muhammad, according to a statement by US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price.
Musa, Adamu, Yusuf, Isa, Alhassan, and Muhammad have been added to the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons by the US Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in accordance with Executive Order 13224, as amended, for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of Boko Haram.
"Today's action follows the UAE's prosecutions, convictions, and designations of these individuals for supporting terrorism," the statement reads. On November 14, 2013, the US State Department designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization. "Since 2009, the Nigeria-based group has carried out numerous attacks in the country's northern and northeastern regions, as well as in the Lake Chad Basin in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, killing thousands of people."
The six people were found guilty of transferring $782,000 from Dubai to Boko Haram in Nigeria by the UAE Federal Court of Appeals in Abu Dhabi. For violating UAE anti-terrorism laws, Adamu and Muhammad were sentenced to life in prison; Musa, Yusuf, Isa, and Alhassan were sentenced to ten years in prison, followed by deportation. The designations will prevent the funds of these individuals from being used to support terrorism in the future.
All property and interests in property owned, directly or indirectly, by individuals and entities owned, directly or indirectly, by them, individually or with other blocked persons, in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC.
Furthermore, transacting with the individuals exposes you to secondary sanctions under E.O. 13224, as amended. In accordance with this authority.