US sanctions six Nigerians for bankrolling Boko Haram

Abuja.  The United States of America has sanctioned six Nigerians who are suspected to be supporting terror group Boko Haram. 

The US on Friday said it had listed the six as Blocked Persons, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended.

According to the US, the individuals were sanctioned for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Boko Haram.

This is contained in a statement signed by US Department of State spokesperson, Ned Price as ordered by US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). 

The six Nigerian nationals are Abdurrahman Ado Musa, Salihu Yusuf Adamu, Bashir Ali Yusuf, Muhammed Ibrahim Isa, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, and Surajo Abubakar Muhammad.

“Today’s action follows the United Arab Emirates’ prosecutions, convictions, and designations of these individuals for supporting terrorism.

“The Department of State designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization on November 14, 2013.

  Major boost

 “The Nigeria-based group is responsible for numerous attacks in the northern and northeastern regions of the country as well as in the Lake Chad Basin in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger that have killed thousands of people since 2009,” Mr Price said.

 The action of the America has been welcome as a major boost to the war against the terrorists that have taken Nigeria into ransom since 2009 in a violence that has witnessed the death of more than 120,000 people, especially in the North East region, fringes of Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republics.

 Boko Haram with recent collaboration with Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have decimated public infrastructure, including schools as well as crippled agriculture, and rendered more than six million people in the region in despair.

 While welcoming the action of America meant to drastically reduce the financing of the insurgents, troops of the Joint Task Force Operation of the Nigerian Army Mach 25, 2022 also reported killing 126 Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in the North-East.

 Col. Obinna Azuikpe, the Theatre Command Intelligence Coordinator, who reviewed progress of the operations in the North-East, on Friday in Maiduguri, Borno State said troops recorded successes against the insurgents in the ongoing operations.

 He said that “ten soldiers had paid the supreme price.”

Azuikpe said that the troops under the Operation Desert Sanity conducted 9,163 patrols, 5,553 ambushes and 1,006 clearance operations in three months.

He said the troops successfully cleared insurgents’ enclaves in Afa, Kara, Abullam, Talala Ajigin, Buk Alagarno, Dole, Alafa, Darusalam, Kuraba, Ukuba and Camp Zero and destroyed insurgents’ bomb factories and a major cell used for detaining 150 captives.

Azuikpe explained that the Command also recorded about 81 Improvised Explosives Device (IEDs) attacks across the region within the period under review.

 Motar bomb attacks

 He said that about eight indirect Motar bomb attacks were recorded in Maiduguri, Malam Fatori, Gamboru Ngala and Bama.

 He said the troops also recovered arms and ammunitions including artillery guns, Anti-Aircraft guns, Armoured Personnel Carriers, Gun trucks, an 18 seater bus and 60 Commando Mortar bombs, among others.

 Maj.-Gen. Christopher Musa, Theatre Commander, also identified detection and diffusing of IEDs as a major challenge in the fight against insurgency in the region.

 “Troops must scan areas where it is conducting patrols before going for any operation, and scan again while returning.

 “In spite of these challenges, the troops continued to record remarkable successes in various operations against the insurgents in the North East,” he said.

Musa said the conduct of the Operation Lake Sanity by the Multi-National Joint Task Force, would further harness the operational gains recorded so far in the theatre.