Court Jails Three Arms Traffickers in Taraba, Female Courier Pleads Guilty in Abuja

A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State, has sentenced three persons arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) to 10 years in prison each for arms trafficking.

The convicts are Sakina Garba, Ali Gono and Ibrahim Abdulrashid. They were found guilty of illegal arms dealing and were handed the jail terms without the option of fine by the Grade I Chief Magistrate Court.

Security sources said the suspects were arrested between January and February 2026 following intelligence reports that exposed a plan to transport arms and ammunition to a notorious bandit leader.

According to the sources, the suspects were apprehended along the Wukari – Jalingo road while attempting to move the weapons from Bantaje village in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State.

Investigations revealed that the arms and ammunition were concealed inside two sacks of food items to avoid detection.

“The suspects were caught with two sacks of food items in which they hid one AK-47 rifle, 984 rounds of 7.6mm ammunition and 105 rounds of 7.82mm ammunition,” a security source disclosed.

The source further revealed that 14 AK-47 rifle magazines, three Point-of-Sale (POS) machines and N200,200 in cash were also recovered from the suspects.

Meanwhile, in a related development at the Federal High Court in Abuja, another suspected arms courier, Halima Haliru Umar, pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal possession of ammunition.

The defendant was arraigned after operatives of the DSS recovered 302 rounds of live ammunition from her.

Following her guilty plea, the presiding judge, Justice Haywa Joseph Yilwatda, adjourned the case until May 8 for sentencing.

Earlier during the proceedings, a DSS witness told the court that the suspect was arrested in Plateau State while in possession of the ammunition, which she allegedly intended to deliver to a notorious bandit leader.

The witness also tendered the recovered ammunition, the investigation report, the defendant’s statements and money recovered from her as evidence before the court.

Security officials said the arrests highlight ongoing efforts by the DSS to dismantle arms supply networks linked to banditry and terrorism across the country.

“The operations underscore the ongoing efforts by the DSS to disrupt arms supply chains linked to banditry and terrorism in Nigeria,” the source said.