JUST IN: Court Sentences Three Terrorism Convicts to Death by Hanging

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 arms proliferation.

The convicts, Yusuf Muhammad (alias Sallau), a Nigerien; Jabbi Alhaji Yalle, and Kabiru Muhammad were apprehended on 13th June, 2025, by the Department of State Services Counter-Terrorism Unit in connection with cross-border crimes, arms trafficking and terrorism.

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

Delivering judgment, Justice Bello convicted the three defendants on all counts and sentenced them to death by hanging. The court also ordered that all money recovered from the convicts be forfeited to the Federal Government.

According to the court, the conviction represents another successful prosecution in the DSS’s ongoing efforts to dismantle terrorist networks and organised cross-border criminal syndicates operating within and beyond Nigeria.

The judgment comes barely two weeks after the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced five suspects linked to the November 21, 2025, attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, to 25 years imprisonment each.

The suspects, including two Nigerien nationals, were arrested by the DSS on May 31, 2026, and later pleaded guilty to four terrorism-related charges before Justice Binta Nyako.

The charges included supporting acts of terrorism and violating provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as the Firearms Act.

According to court documents, 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 DSS said the suspects were apprehended at various locations during intelligence-led operations.