A Sokoto State High Court has sentenced three men, including a Nigerien national, to death by hanging after finding them guilty of terrorism-related offences and illegal arms trafficking.

The convicts — Yusuf Muhammad, also known as Sallau, a citizen of the Republic 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 during an operation targeting cross-border criminal networks involved in arms proliferation and terrorist activities.

The defendants were prosecuted before High Court No. 23 in Sokoto in a case marked SS/45c/2026, presided over by Justice Muhammad Nuraddeen Bello.

Delivering judgment, Justice Bello held that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt and consequently convicted the three defendants on all counts. The court sentenced them to death by hanging and ordered that all funds and monetary exhibits recovered during the investigation be forfeited to the Federal Government.

Justice Bello noted that the conviction reflects ongoing efforts by security agencies and the judiciary to combat terrorism, illegal arms trafficking, and other transnational crimes threatening national security.

The judgment represents another major success in the DSS’s ongoing campaign against terrorist financing, arms smuggling, and organised criminal networks operating across Nigeria’s borders.

The latest 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 2025 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.

In that case, Justice Binta Nyako convicted the five defendants, including two citizens of Niger Republic, after they pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges filed against them by the Federal Government.

The charges included providing support for terrorist activities and violations of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as provisions of the Firearms Act.

According to court documents, the suspects admitted to conspiring 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, who was allegedly operating in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.

Security agencies have continued to intensify operations against terrorist groups, arms traffickers, and cross-border criminal syndicates amid ongoing efforts to strengthen national security and curb insurgent activities across the country.