Alhaji Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad: Agege Residents Stunned As Lagos House Linked To Alleged ISIS Financier Deserted
The Lagos residence identified by the United States as belonging to an alleged Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) financial facilitator has been deserted for years, a Sunday PUNCH investigation has revealed.
The property, located at No. 45, Abimbola Street, Morkaz, Agege, Lagos State, was listed by the United States Department of State as the residence of Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, a Nigerian accused of helping to move funds for ISIS operations.
When Sunday PUNCH visited the address, the building was locked and showed no signs of recent habitation.
The dark cream-coloured bungalow, located between houses numbered 43 and 47, had rusted door handles, tightly shut windows and iron doors partly sealed with concrete.
The visit followed the recent decision of the United States Government to impose sanctions on Muhammad and three Nigerian Bureau De Change companies over alleged links to an international ISIS financing network.
The companies named by the US are Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited, Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited and Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited.
Residents of Abimbola Street, close to the Markaz Islamic Centre in the Papa Ashafa area of Agege, said they were shocked that their neighbourhood had been linked to an international terrorism financing investigation.
Some residents said the property had been unoccupied for about two years, though this could not be independently verified.
A 58-year-old food vendor, identified simply as Hajia, said she did not know anyone called Mukhtar Muhammad.
“This area is mainly occupied by Hausa people, but I have never seen anything that would suggest criminal activities or terrorist operations here.
“What surprised me the most is how America even knew Abimbola Street and the exact house number. I am standing at Number 44 now, but I don’t know anybody called Muhammad Mukhtar. I have lived here for six years,” she said.
Another resident, Alhaji Suleiman Tijani, described the area as peaceful.
“There has never been any history of violence or radical activities here. This is a quiet community.
“That particular house has been unoccupied for a long time. Sometimes, I noticed people would come around to clean the place, stay for a few days and leave, but they have never carried out any act that could raise suspicion,” he said.
Tijani said police patrol vehicles appeared to have increased in the area after the US announcement.
“You know Markaz attracts important personalities regularly, and security operatives often accompany them.
“But on Tuesday, I noticed police patrol vans passing through this area about four different times. They simply drove around; nobody was arrested and no resident was questioned,” he added.
Another resident, identified simply as Auwal, said he initially dismissed the reports as rumour until he heard them discussed on radio.
He expressed concern that security agencies could target innocent residents while searching for the suspect.
“My fear is that security agencies may start coming here to arrest innocent residents while searching for this person,” he said.
However, a fashion designer, Mrs Angela Nwoboku, said the community had remained calm and peaceful.
“I have not noticed any change in this area. Everything has remained the way it has always been. People go about their normal businesses peacefully,” she said.
She urged security agencies to conduct proper investigations to avoid wrongly labelling innocent residents.
When contacted, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said the state government had no plan to demolish the property identified by the US authorities.
“The issue is beyond the Lagos State Government,” Omotoso said.
He explained that terrorism and national security matters fall under federal security agencies.
Sunday PUNCH learnt that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) had not arrested Muhammad or other persons linked to the alleged network as of Saturday.
A senior security source said investigations were at an advanced stage and that the suspects and their alleged associates were being tracked.
“Terrorism financing cases are very complex. The networks are global and have to be trailed to identify their local collaborators. It’s not a press-button thing. We are still on it.
“Those sanctioned by the U.S. are yet to be arrested and are not in the custody of any Nigerian security agency, but everything about them is known to the EFCC and DSS, which investigated them,” the source said.
The source dismissed fears that the suspects could escape, saying, “There’s no hiding place. The world is a global village.”
EFCC sources had earlier told Sunday PUNCH that the commission had been investigating Muhammad and the three Bureau De Change companies before the US announced sanctions against them.
“We investigated these individuals and the BDC companies for terrorism financing and were preparing charges against them when the U.S. sanctioned them,” an EFCC source said.
Although the EFCC has yet to issue an official statement, officials familiar with the case said the investigation focused on alleged terrorism financing, suspicious financial transactions and possible links to terrorist operations.