By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Capital market operators have been directed to immediately freeze the assets, funds, and other economic resources belonging to six individuals and three entities designated as terrorist financiers by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC).

This directive was given by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) via a circular to all Capital Market Regulated Entities (CMREs), warning that failure to comply would constitute a violation of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, and the SEC Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Rules and Regulations.

It said violations could attract regulatory sanctions, including fines, suspension of operations or revocation of registration, reminding capital market operators that all unusual or suspicious transactions must be promptly reported to the NFIU.

The regulator, which stated that the designations were made in line with the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA) 2022, listed the six individuals as Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Ibrahim Abubakar, Adamu Chiroma, Muktar Muhammad Adamu and Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim. The three designated entities are Nine to Nine BDC Ltd, Generation Currency BDC Ltd and Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau de Change.

According to the SEC, Hammajama was listed on June 18, 2026, for involvement in terrorism financing and support for the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), while Usman was designated for providing material support to a designated terrorist organisation through repeated financial transactions.

The commission said Abubakar was listed for involvement in terrorism financing and membership of ISWAP, while Chiroma was designated for allegedly using Bureau De Change (BDC) operations and related corporate entities to facilitate the movement of funds linked to terrorist activities.

Muktar Muhammad Adamu was listed on June 15, 2026, for providing financial support and facilitating transactions linked to the financing network of the ISWAP Okene cell, while Ibrahim was designated for providing material and financial support to the ISWAP Kogi cell.

The SEC said the three entities were listed for their alleged involvement in facilitating and channelling funds connected to the ISWAP Okene financing network.

The commission directed CMREs to immediately identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets and other economic resources in their possession belonging to the designated persons and entities.

They are also required to report frozen assets and other compliance actions, including attempted transactions, to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.

In addition, the SEC directed regulated entities to immediately file suspicious transaction reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for further analysis of the financial activities.

It further instructed operators to report as suspicious transactions all cases of name matches in financial transactions, whether occurring before or after receipt of the sanctions list.

The regulated entities are also required to prohibit dealings with the designated persons and entities and continue monitoring for transactions involving them.

The SEC said any findings should be reported to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee through its designated reporting channel.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Nigeria’s biggest sugar producer, has raised N486 billion ($356 million) through an oversubscribed rights issue as the company moves to reduce its debt burden and strengthen its capital base after three consecutive years of losses.

The company, founded by Mr Aliko Dangote, raised the funds through the issuance of 8.1 billion ordinary shares at N60 per share, according to a filing with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday.

The development follows shareholders’ approval of the capital-raising plan at the company’s 20th Annual General Meeting held in April.

In a statement signed by the Company Secretary, Mr Temitope Hassan, the sugar firm said the rights issue is part of efforts to improve its financial position and provide funding to support its long-term growth plans.

The company’s directors are authorised to raise up to N500 billion through a rights issue, on terms and at a time to be determined by the Board.

Dangote Sugar increased its share capital to accommodate the new shares issued under the rights issue. The sugar producer’s board also authorised to allot the shares and the management of any fractional holdings in accordance with regulatory requirements.

The organisation said any shares remaining unallotted after the offer would be cancelled as permitted by law, describing the capital raise as one of the largest rights issues in Nigeria’s corporate history.

The capital raise comes against the backdrop of improved revenue performance but continued losses at the company.

In its 2025 audited results, Dangote Sugar recorded a 24.56 per cent increase in revenue to N829.2 billion, compared with the previous year. The growth was driven largely by strong demand for 50kg sugar, which generated N807 billion in revenue.

Retail sugar sales contributed N17.7 billion, while molasses and freight income generated N4.02 billion and N66.4 million, respectively.

Cost of sales increased by 11.35 per cent to N706.5 billion, largely due to raw material costs of N573.3 billion. This resulted in a gross profit of N122.6 billion.

Despite the improvement in revenue and gross profit, the company recorded a pre-tax loss of N72.2 billion in 2025, although this represented a significant improvement from the N270.8 billion loss reported in 2024.

Lagos remained the company’s largest market, accounting for 55.82 per cent of regional sales, followed by the North with 35.35 per cent, the West with 6.45 per cent and the East with 2.38 per cent.

The fresh capital is expected to provide Dangote Sugar with additional financial capacity as it works to reduce its debt obligations, strengthen its balance sheet and advance its long-term expansion plans.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Dangote Petroleum Refinery will not pursue an overseas listing until it has established at least three years of proven production and financial performance, its chief executive, Mr David Bird, has said.

Mr Bird said the decision would allow the refinery to build a stronger operational track record before seeking an international listing that could support a higher valuation.

London has been mentioned as a possible destination for the refinery’s eventual foreign listing, although Mr Bird said the company would focus on its planned Nigerian initial public offering (IPO) in the near term.

The refinery is preparing for an October IPO on the Nigerian Exchange that could become Africa’s largest, with the oil firm seeking to encourage broad participation from Nigerians.

“We really want to drive participation,” Mr Bird told Reuters. “The mandate of the IPO was to be the people’s IPO.”

The refinery has submitted an application to the Securities and Exchange Commission for a potential $5 billion IPO, according to a source cited by the publication, although the final size of the offer has not been determined.

However, Mr Bird declined to comment on the proposed IPO size or the refinery’s valuation.

The company raised $2.5 billion in a private placement in July, a transaction that valued the refinery at about $40 billion. Africa Finance Corporation, which led a group of strategic investors in the deal, said the placement was 3.7 times oversubscribed.

Mr Bird said investor interest in the IPO had been strong during pre-marketing and the private placement, while preparations remained on schedule.

The refinery, owned by Mr Aliko Dangote, is also planning to double its refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day within three years, with the expansion expected to be funded partly through the IPO and debt.

The organisation currently supplies most of Nigeria’s gasoline and diesel demand and all of the country’s jet fuel needs.

It is also planning to establish a similar structure in Kenya to serve the East African market.