A Sokoto High Court has sentenced three men to death by hanging after convicting them on charges of terrorism and arms trafficking. Justice Bello, who presided over the trial, found all three defendants guilty on every count. In addition to the death sentence, the court ordered that funds and assets linked to the convicts be forfeited to the Federal Government.
Details of the Convicts and Their Arrest
The condemned men are Yusuf Muhammad, also known as Sallau, a Nigerien national; Jabbi Alhaji Yalle; and Kabiru Muhammad. They were arrested on June 13, 2025, by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) attached to the Counter-Terrorism Unit. The arrests followed intelligence reports linking the trio to arms trafficking and cross-border criminal activities.
Growing Number of Terrorism Convictions
This case adds to a series of recent terrorism-related convictions across Nigeria. In Katsina, a Federal High Court sentenced Hauwa'u Mukhtar to death after she was caught transporting 438 rounds of ammunition intended for a bandit leader. In Abuja, four men—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, and Abdulhaleem Idris—were also sentenced to death for their involvement in the 2022 attack on worshippers in Owo, Ondo State, which killed over 40 people.
Similarly, in Kogi State, Jibrin Halilu was sentenced to death by hanging in Lokoja for kidnapping and murdering a hotelier in Obajana, a case prosecuted with DSS assistance. These verdicts reflect the judiciary's efforts to clear a backlog of terrorism cases, many involving suspects held for years after military operations in the North-East and other conflict zones.
Impact on Counter-Terrorism Strategy
Officials have highlighted these prosecutions as evidence that Nigeria's counter-terrorism strategy is yielding results. They argue that consistent convictions deter future attacks and bolster public confidence in the justice system. The rulings come as the Federal Government proceeds with the mass trial of over 500 suspects linked to Boko Haram and ISWAP, described as one of the largest terrorism trials in the country's history.
