A High Court in Sokoto State has sentenced three men, including a foreign national, to death by hanging after finding them guilty of terrorism-related offences and arms trafficking.
The convicts — Yusuf Muhammad, also known as Sallau, a citizen of Niger Republic, alongside Jabbi Alhaji Yalle and Kabiru Muhammad — were arrested on June 13, 2025, by the Department of State Services (DSS) Counter-Terrorism Unit over their involvement in cross-border arms trafficking and terrorism activities.
The case, marked SS/45C/2026, was heard by Justice Muhammad Nuraddeen Bello of High Court No. 23, Sokoto.
Delivering judgment, Justice Bello convicted all three defendants on the charges brought against them and sentenced them to death by hanging. The court also ordered that all funds and monetary exhibits recovered from the convicts be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The judge noted that the conviction represents another milestone in the DSS’s ongoing efforts to dismantle terrorist networks and organised cross-border criminal syndicates operating within and around Nigeria.
The ruling comes barely two weeks after the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced five terrorism suspects to 25 years imprisonment each for their roles in the November 21, 2025 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.
The suspects, including two Nigerien nationals, were arrested by the DSS on May 31, 2026, and later pleaded guilty to four terrorism-related charges before Justice Binta Nyako.
The charges included providing support for acts of terrorism in violation of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Firearms Act.
According to court documents, the suspects conspired to facilitate the transportation of 15 AK-103 rifles and approximately 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition from the Diffa Region of Niger Republic to a suspected Boko Haram member identified as Malam Ahmad in Borgu, Niger State.
The DSS arrested the suspects at different locations following intelligence-led operations.
