Female Arms Courier Caught With 438 Rounds of Ammunition Sentenced to Death for Aiding Terrorism

Female Arms Courier Caught With 438 Rounds of Ammunition Sentenced to Death for Aiding Terrorism

A Federal High Court in Katsina State has sentenced a female arms courier, Hauwa’u Mukhtar, to death by hanging after she was found guilty of conspiring to aid terrorism and supplying ammunition to armed bandits.

Mukhtar was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on September 16, 2023, at Jibia Motor Park in Katsina while allegedly transporting 438 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to Ado, a notorious bandit leader operating in Zamfara State’s Dunburum Forest.

Following a full trial before Justice A. B. Bawale of High Court No. 3 in Katsina, the court ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt through witness testimonies, exhibits, and other evidence presented.

The court subsequently convicted Mukhtar on all charges and sentenced her to death by hanging under the provisions of the Katsina State Penal Code Law, 2021.

Security sources described the judgment as a major victory for the DSS, highlighting the agency’s commitment to dismantling terrorism networks and ensuring those involved face justice.

The ruling comes just weeks after another court sentenced four terrorists to death over the 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which claimed more than 40 lives. It also follows the recent conviction of another female arms courier, Halima Haliru Umar, who received a 20-year prison sentence for illegally possessing hundreds of rounds of AK-47 ammunition and attempting to support terrorist activities.