Nigeria, June 24 -- The United States government has sanctioned Mukhtar Muhammad, a Lagos-based Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, and three firms allegedly controlled by him over claims that they served as financial conduits for the West Africa franchise of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

In a statement issued on Monday, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) accused Mr Muhammad, also known as "Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad", of facilitating financial transactions and money transfers on behalf of ISIS-West Africa, popularly known as Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

ISWAP, a second breakaway faction of Boko Haram, has been responsible for years of deadly attacks across Nigeria's North-east ...