The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria has ordered an immediate freeze on the capital market assets of thirteen newly recognized businesses connected to terrorism financing.
According to Naija News, the instruction, which impacts ten people and three corporate entities, comes after the Nigeria Sanctions Committee added them to the Nigeria Sanctions List.
The SEC stated that the action was based on the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 in a circular headlined “Commission’s sweeping compliance directive issued to capital market operators.”
The law requires any money, assets, and financial resources associated with specific people and organizations to be immediately frozen without prior warning.
The Commission emphasized that the direction must be fully adhered to by all Capital Market Operators and stakeholders.
The SEC claims that the directive is legally binding and demands immediate implementation throughout the banking sector.
The Commission declared that “all capital market operators and stakeholders are bound by the directive to freeze accounts and halt all transactions with the flagged entities.”
The Nigeria Sanctions Committee Secretariat must be notified of all frozen assets and attempted transactions, and operators must promptly identify and freeze all assets associated with the designated individuals and entities without prior notice.
The Commission emphasized that compliance needs to happen right away.
A number of those impacted had already been found guilty of supporting terrorism, according to information made public in conjunction with the directive.
The SEC claims that the convictions, which had ties to the extremist organization Boko Haram, were handed down by the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal in April 2019.
According to reports, the crimes comprised gathering money in Dubai and then sending it to Nigeria to fund terrorist activities.
Given the seriousness of the crimes, punishments varied from 10 years to life in prison.
