Court jails five men for 25 years each for supplying weapons to the Boko Haram network

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday sentenced five men to 25 years in prison each for their roles in a cross-border arms trafficking ring that allegedly supplied arms to Boko Haram-linked operatives in Niger State.

The convicts – Yusuf Muhammad (alias Bature), Goni Ibrahim Bindi (alias Goni Mutuwa), Sani Tukur (alias Danladi), Mubarak Ibrahim and Musa Alhaji Adamu (alias Gado Banufe) – were jailed after pleading guilty to four charges bordering on terrorism, illegal possession of firearms and material support for a terrorist organisation.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Binta Nyako found that their guilty pleas, together with the documents submitted and investigative reports, clearly established that they had knowingly participated in the movement and supply of sophisticated weapons to rebel elements.

The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently, meaning each of the convicts will serve 25 years in prison from the date of their arrest. He also ordered that all exhibits, including a Volkswagen Golf used to transport the weapons, be forfeited to the federal government.

Prosecutors, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), told the court that the accused conspired between April 23 and 24, 2026, to transfer 15 AK-103 rifles and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition from the Diffa region of Niger Republic to Nigeria.

The weapons, according to the prosecution, were hidden in bags of dried fish and transported in a blue Volkswagen Golf with Niger Republic registration number BT 9990 DA before being intercepted by security agents in Zaria, Kaduna State.

Investigators said the consignment was destined for one Malam Ahmad, allegedly a Boko Haram operative based in Borgu Local Government Area of ​​Niger State, within Nigeria’s larger insurgency corridor.

Security sources told the court that the case was part of a larger investigation triggered by the November 21, 2025 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri in Borgu LGA, where gunmen abducted over 250 students and staff in the Kainji Lake reserve forest.

Although dozens of people managed to escape, the victims were held for weeks before being rescued in December 2025.

Authorities said information gathered from that operation led the Department of State Services (DSS) to a logistics network believed to have provided weapons and operational support to the attackers.

The defendants were arraigned Thursday and initially pleaded not guilty before later changing their pleas to guilty. The prosecution later handed over 15 AK-103 rifles, ammunition, confessional statements and investigative documents, all of which were admitted without objection by the defense.

Justice Nyako also found that the convicts’ actions violated the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, stressing that their conduct amounted to direct assistance to terrorist activities.

It also accepted the prosecution’s request for confiscation of all operational assets used for the crime

The prosecution described the Diffa axis – bordering north-eastern Nigeria – as part of a long-standing insurgency corridor linking Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, often exploited for weapons smuggling and militant mobility.

All five convicts were ordered to serve their sentences in a correctional institution designated by the Home Secretary.

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