By Hadiza Mohammed, Northern Operation
A Sokoto State High Court has sentenced three men, including a citizen of the Republic of Niger, to death by hanging after convicting them of terrorism-related offences and illegal arms trafficking.
The convicts — Yusuf Muhammad, also known as Sallau, a Nigerien national; Jabbi Alhaji Yalle; and Kabiru Muhammad — were found guilty of participating in cross-border criminal activities linked to terrorism and the proliferation of illicit weapons.
The Department of State Services (DSS) Counter-Terrorism Unit arrested the suspects on June 13, 2025, following intelligence-led operations targeting arms trafficking networks operating across Nigeria’s borders.
The case, marked SS/45C/2026, was heard before Justice Muhammad Nuraddeen Bello of High Court No. 23 in Sokoto.
Delivering judgment, Justice Bello held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and consequently sentenced all three defendants to death by hanging.
The court also ordered the forfeiture to the Federal Government of all funds and monetary exhibits recovered from the convicts during investigations.
Justice Bello described the conviction as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle terrorism financing and arms-smuggling networks operating within and beyond Nigeria’s borders.
“The conviction is the latest in a series of successful prosecutions by the DSS in its sustained operations against terrorism and organised cross-border criminal networks across Nigeria,” the judge stated.
According to court documents, the defendants conspired to support terrorist activities by facilitating the transportation of 15 AK-103 rifles and about 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition from the Diffa Region of the Republic of Niger to one Malam Ahmad, identified as a member of the Boko Haram terrorist group operating in Borgu, Niger State.
Prosecutors argued that the convicts knowingly participated in the movement of the weapons and ammunition, thereby providing material support to a terrorist organisation in violation of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Firearms Act.
The DSS arrested the suspects at different locations during coordinated security operations aimed at disrupting terrorist logistics and supply chains.
The judgment comes barely two weeks after the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced five terrorism suspects to 25 years imprisonment each for their involvement in the November 21, 2025 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.
In that case, Justice Binta Nyako convicted the defendants, including two Nigerien nationals, after they pleaded guilty to four terrorism-related charges brought against them by the Federal Government.
Security experts say the latest convictions underscore the authorities’ intensified crackdown on terrorism financing, arms trafficking and transnational criminal networks threatening Nigeria’s security.
