By David Lawani, Abuja
A Sokoto State High Court has sentenced three men, including a Nigerien national, to death by hanging after convicting them of terrorism and illegal arms trafficking, in what security officials described as a breakthrough in the fight against cross-border criminal networks fuelling insecurity in Nigeria.
The convicts, Yusuf Muhammad, alias Sallau, a citizen of the Niger Republic, alongside Jabbi Alhaji Yalle and Kabiru Muhammad, were found guilty of offences linked to terrorism, arms proliferation and activities deemed prejudicial to national security.
Justice Muhammad Nuraddeen Bello of High Court No. 23, Sokoto, delivered the judgment in suit number SS/45C/2026 after reviewing evidence presented by prosecutors and security operatives.
The court not only sentenced the trio to death by hanging but also ordered that all monies and exhibits recovered from them be forfeited to the Federal Government as proceeds of criminal activity.
The convicts were arrested on June 13, 2025, by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) Counter-Terrorism Unit following intelligence reports linking them to a network involved in the movement of arms across Nigeria’s borders.
Investigations reportedly uncovered activities connected to the trafficking of weapons and support for criminal groups operating within the North-West and other parts of the country, where terrorism, banditry and kidnapping have continued to pose serious security challenges.
Security sources said the arrests were the outcome of months of intelligence gathering, surveillance and coordinated counter-terrorism operations aimed at disrupting the supply chains that sustain armed groups and criminal syndicates.
Delivering judgment, Justice Bello held that the prosecution successfully proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and found all three defendants guilty as charged.
The verdict is being regarded as one of the most significant terrorism-related convictions secured in recent months, particularly because it highlights the growing involvement of transnational networks in Nigeria’s security crisis.
“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,” a security source said after the ruling.
The judgment comes amid renewed efforts by security agencies to stem the influx of illegal weapons into the country, especially through porous borders that arms traffickers have long exploited, by terrorists and other criminal elements.
Security experts have repeatedly warned that the proliferation of illicit firearms remains one of the major drivers of insecurity in Nigeria, enabling terrorist groups, bandits and kidnappers to sustain violent operations against communities and security forces.
The involvement of a foreign national in the case has also reinforced concerns about the regional dimension of terrorism and organised crime in West Africa, prompting calls for stronger border management and deeper intelligence-sharing among neighbouring countries.
Analysts say the conviction sends a strong message that authorities are determined to target not only those carrying out attacks but also the networks that supply weapons, logistics, and funding to criminal groups.
*DSS-led operation exposes cross-border arms trafficking network
The DSS has, in recent years, intensified intelligence-led operations against terrorist financiers, arms dealers and transnational crime syndicates, leading to several arrests and prosecutions across different parts of the country.
Officials believe the latest conviction will strengthen ongoing efforts to dismantle cross-border criminal enterprises and disrupt the flow of illegal weapons that continue to fuel violence in Nigeria.
For security agencies, the ruling represents another step in the broader campaign to degrade terrorist capabilities, tighten border security and deny criminal groups access to the resources needed to sustain their operations.
