Court sentences three terrorism convicts to death by hanging in Sokoto

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 proliferation.

The convicts, Yusuf Muhammad, also known as Sallau, a citizen of Niger, alongside Jabbi Alhaji Yalle and Kabiru Muhammad, were arrested on June 13, 2025, by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) Counter-Terrorism Unit over alleged cross-border arms trafficking and terrorism activities.

The case, marked SS/45C/2026, was heard before Justice Muhammad Nuraddeen Bello of High Court No. 23, Sokoto.

Delivering judgment, Justice Bello found the three defendants guilty on all counts and sentenced them to death by hanging.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of all monetary exhibits recovered from the convicts to the Federal Government.

According to the court, the conviction forms part of ongoing efforts by the DSS to dismantle terrorism networks and combat organised cross-border criminal activities across Nigeria.

The judgment comes barely weeks after the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced five terrorism suspects linked to the November 2025 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, to 25 years imprisonment each.

In that case, Justice Binta Nyako convicted the suspects after they pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges, including providing support for terrorist activities and violating provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as the Firearms Act.

Prosecutors told the court that the suspects conspired to transport 15 AK-103 rifles and about 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 latest conviction highlights intensified efforts by Nigerian security agencies and the judiciary to curb terrorism financing, arms smuggling and cross-border criminal operations.

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