Court Sentences Three to Death by Hanging for Terrorism, Including Foreigner Arrested by DSS

Yusuf Muhammad, Kabiru Muhammad and Jabbi Yalle

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

The convicted individuals — 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 over their involvement in cross-border arms smuggling and terrorism activities.

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

In his judgment, Justice Bello held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and consequently sentenced the three defendants to death by hanging. He also ordered that all cash exhibits recovered from the convicts be forfeited to the Federal Government.

The judge noted that the conviction represents another milestone in the DSS’s ongoing crackdown on terrorism and transnational criminal networks operating within and outside Nigeria’s borders.

The judgment comes barely two weeks after a Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced five men arrested by the DSS on May 31, 2026, for their roles in the November 21, 2025 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, to 25 years imprisonment each.

Justice Binta Nyako delivered the verdict after the defendants, including two Nigerien nationals, pleaded guilty to four terrorism-related counts brought against them.

The charges included providing support for terrorist activities in violation of Section 16 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as provisions of the Firearms Act.

According to the first count, the defendants conspired to aid a terrorist operation by facilitating the movement of 15 AK-103 rifles and approximately 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition from the Diffa Region of Niger Republic to one Malam Ahmad, identified as a member of the Boko Haram terrorist group operating in Borgu, Niger State, contrary to Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.