DSS Secures Death Sentences for 3 Over Terrorism, Arms Proliferation
A High Court in Sokoto State has sentenced three men, including a foreign national from the Republic of Niger, to death by hanging after finding them guilty of terrorism-related offences and arms proliferation.
The convicts — Yusuf Muhammad, also known as Sallau, a Nigerien national, Jabbi Alhaji Yalle, and Kabiru Muhammad — were arrested on June 13, 2025, by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) Counter-Terrorism Unit during an operation targeting cross-border criminal networks involved in arms trafficking and terrorist activities.
Delivering judgment, Justice Bello held that the prosecution had successfully proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and consequently convicted the three defendants on all counts. The court sentenced them to death by hanging and ordered the forfeiture of all monetary exhibits recovered during the investigation to the Federal Government.
The judgment represents another major legal victory in the DSS-led crackdown on terrorism, arms trafficking, and other violent crimes threatening national security.
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The Sokoto convictions come barely a week after a Federal High Court in Katsina sentenced a female arms courier, Hauwa’u Mukhtar, to death for her role in supplying ammunition to armed bandits. Mukhtar was arrested by DSS operatives while allegedly transporting 438 rounds of ammunition intended for a notorious bandit kingpin.
Similarly, a Federal High Court in Abuja recently sentenced four individuals — Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, and Abdulhaleem Idris — to death for their involvement in the deadly attack on worshippers in Owo, Ondo State, which claimed more than 40 lives. The convicts were also apprehended and investigated by the DSS.
In another related case, the Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja sentenced Jibrin Halilu to death by hanging for conspiracy, kidnapping, and the murder of a prominent hotelier in Obajana. Halilu was arrested by the DSS and subsequently prosecuted for the offences.
Security analysts have described the recent convictions as a significant boost to Nigeria’s counter-terrorism and anti-kidnapping efforts, noting that successful investigations, prosecutions, and convictions serve as critical deterrents against terrorism, violent extremism, arms trafficking, and other organised criminal activities.
The string of judgments also underscores the increasing collaboration between intelligence agencies, law enforcement authorities, and the judiciary in the ongoing effort to combat threats to Nigeria’s national security.
By PRNigeria
