…Convicts to forfeit crime proceeds to FG

A Sokoto State High Court has sentenced three men, including a Nigerien national, to death by hanging after convicting them of terrorism and arms proliferation.

The convicts—Yusuf Muhammad, also known as Sallau, a Nigerien; Jabbi Alhaji Yalle; and Kabiru Muhammad—were arrested on June 13, 2025, by the Department of State Services (DSS) Counter-Terrorism Unit over alleged involvement in cross-border crimes, arms trafficking and terrorism.

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

The court also ordered that all money and other proceeds recovered from the convicts be forfeited to the Federal Government.

The judgment comes barely a week after a Federal High Court in Katsina sentenced Hauwa’u Mukhtar to death after convicting her on charges related to arms trafficking. She was arrested by the DSS while allegedly transporting 438 rounds of ammunition to an alleged bandit leader.

Similarly, a Federal High Court in Abuja recently sentenced Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik and Abdulhaleem Idris to death following their conviction over their involvement in the attack on worshippers in Owo, Ondo State, which claimed more than 40 lives.

Also last week, a Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja sentenced Jibrin Halilu to death by hanging after convicting him over the kidnapping and murder of a hotelier in Obajana. Halilu was arrested by the DSS and prosecuted on charges of conspiracy, kidnapping and murder.