Within a Lagos residence tied to a sanctioned ISIS backer

A property in Lagos, identified by the United States as belonging to Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, a Nigerian accused of financing the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, has been vacant for years, according to a Sunday PUNCH investigation.

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Residents in the quiet Agege community, where the property is located, claim they have no knowledge of the suspect and are unaware of any potential links to an international terrorism financing network.

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A visit to No. 45, Abimbola Street, Morkaz, Agege, the address listed by the US Department of State as Muhammad's residence, revealed a locked building with no signs of occupation, its iron doors sealed with concrete and rust-coated door handles.

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The US Department of State imposed sanctions on Muhammad and three Nigerian Bureau de Change firms on June 22, 2026, naming them as part of a network allegedly used to move funds for ISIS operations across West Africa and beyond.

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The sanctions listed Muhammad's address as No. 45, Abimbola Street, off Capital Road, Morkaz, Agege, Lagos State, leaving residents stunned and expressing disbelief that their neighbourhood had attracted negative global attention.

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Residents were seen discussing the allegations in small groups, with some expressing concern that innocent residents could become targets of indiscriminate security operations, while others claimed the community had never had any history of violence or radical activities.

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A 58-year-old food vendor, known as Hajia, stated that she found it difficult to reconcile the allegations with what she knew about the community, having lived there for six years without noticing any suspicious activities.

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Another resident, Alhaji Suleiman Tijani, who has lived in the neighbourhood for about a decade, described the community as peaceful, with no history of violence or radical activities, and noted that the house in question had been unoccupied for a long time.

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Tijani observed that police patrol vehicles had increased in the area shortly after the US announcement, with police vans passing through the area about four different times, although no arrests were made and no residents were questioned.

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A resident, identified simply as Auwal, initially dismissed the reports until he heard them being discussed on the radio, and expressed concern that innocent residents could become targets of security operations while searching for Muhammad.

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A fashion designer, Mrs Angela Nwoboku, said she only learned about the allegations from Sunday PUNCH and had not noticed any change in the area, attributing the calm in the neighbourhood to the influence of the Markaz Islamic Centre.

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Nwoboku urged residents not to jump to conclusions and appealed to security agencies to thoroughly investigate the allegations, ensuring that innocent people are not wrongly labelled due to their address.

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The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, stated that the state government had no plans to demolish the property, as matters relating to terrorism and national security fall within the jurisdiction of federal security agencies.

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Investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Department of State Services have reached an advanced stage, but no arrests have been made, with a top security official stating that terrorism financing investigations require painstaking intelligence gathering.

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A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspects and their alleged associates were being tracked, but the complexity of the case and the need to gather intelligence across multiple jurisdictions meant that arrests had not yet been made.

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The official dismissed concerns that the delay could enable the suspects to flee, stating that the world is a global village and there is no hiding place for those involved in such activities.

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EFCC sources confirmed that the commission had commenced investigations into Muhammad and the three Bureau De Change companies linked to him before the US announced sanctions, and had substantially concluded their work, preparing criminal charges against the suspects.

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Checks on the Corporate Affairs Commission portal revealed that Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited was incorporated in Lagos on January 24, 2019, but its status is currently listed as inactive, while Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited was incorporated on March 1, 2021, and remains active.

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Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited was registered on January 8, 2018, with its status listed as inactive, and further checks on another company search platform, NG-Check.com, revealed the names of the directors, secretary, and shareholders of the companies.

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The records listed Adamu Muhammad Mukhar and Chiroma Adamu as directors of the three companies, with Mukhar also listed as the company secretary, and Adamu Chiroma Fatima and Adamu Chiroma Maryam named as shareholders.