Six Nigerians, 32 others financing terrorism – UAE govt

The United Arab Emirates has named six Nigerians among financiers of terrorism.

The UAE Cabinet on Monday issued Resolution No 83 of 2021, designating a total of 38 individuals and 15 entities on its approved list of persons and organisations supporting Boko Haram and other terrorist cause.

Nigerians on the UAE’s terrorism list include Abdurrahaman Ado Musa, Salihu Yusuf Adamu, Bashir Ali Yusuf, Muhammed Ibrahim Isa, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan and Surajo Abubakar Muhammad.The six persons were said to have been tried and sentenced in UAE.

In April 2019, the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal sentenced Muhammad and Adamu to life imprisonment followed by deportation, while Alhassan, Musa, Yusuf and Muhammad Isa, were each sentenced to 10 years in prison, also followed by deportation.

The court found them guilty of setting up a Boko Haram cell in the UAE to raise funds and material assistance for the insurgents in Nigeria. In December 2019, a UAE Federal Supreme Court also turned down an appeal by the convicts.

The Nigerians were said to have transferred up to $800,000 in favour of Boko Haram between 2015 and 2016. Others on the list are nationals of UAE, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Russia, Britain and Jordan.

UAE news agency, WAM, reports that the resolution underscored the country’s commitment towards targeting and dismantling networks that finance terrorism and its related activities.

The resolution demands that regulatory authorities monitor and identify any individuals or entities associated with any financial, commercial or technical relationship and take the necessary measures according to the laws in force in the country in less than 24 hours.