The PUNCH had on Wednesday, March 20, reported that following the directive of the Federal Government, the Nigerian Sanctions Committee on Monday, March 18, revealed the identities of the 15 indicted entities.
Confirming PUNCH’s report to journalists on Thursday, the spokesperson for the NFIU, Sani Tukur, noted that the designations were approved by President Bola Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.
Tukur said, “I just want to provide an update and context to the issue of designation of terrorism financiers. It wasn’t actually a statement from the NFIU but a release by the Nigerian Sanctions Committee. However, the NFIU is the secretariat of the committee, hence the email that was used by the committee to send to its subscribers.
“It is a requirement that once analysis is done and persons and entities are designated as financiers, such is published on the website of the Sanctions Committee immediately. Once it is so published, all subscribers will receive it in their email boxes. It so happens that only Sanusi from The PUNCH has subscribed to the list, and that is why he received it immediately after it was published.
“The procedure for the designation is such that once persons are determined to be financiers, the list is sent to the President for approval through the Attorney General of the Federation.
“Before persons and entities are so designated, a meeting of the National Sanctions Committee is held at the Attorney General’s office and decisions taken there.
“The NFIU email was used to send to subscribers because the NFIU is the secretariat of the Sanctions Committee. The recent designation information was sent to over 9,000 recipients, of which Sanusi happens to be the only journalist who received it due to his subscription status.”
Earlier, The PUNCH reported that the nine individuals under sanctions are
1. Tukur Mamu
2. Yusuf Ghazali
3. Muhammad Sani
4. Abubakar Muhammad
5. Sallamudeen Hassan
6. Adamu Ishak
7. Hassana-Oyiza Isah
8. Abdulkareem Musa,
9. Umar Abdullahi
While the six BDCs and firms are
10. West and East Africa General Trading Company Limited
11. Settings Bureau De Change Limited
12. G. Side General Enterprises
13. Desert Exchange Ventures Limited
14. Eagle Square General Trading Company Limited
15. Alfa Exchange BDC
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.
Top of the list of 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.”
