A Chief Magistrate Court Grade 1 in Jalingo, Taraba State, has sentenced three individuals—Sakina Garba, Ali Gono, and Ibrahim Abdulrashid—to 10 years’ imprisonment each for arms trafficking. The convicts were arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) between January and February 2026 along the Wukari-Jalingo road in Taraba. Investigations revealed that the arms and ammunition were ingeniously concealed within two sacks of food items, a tactic aimed at evading detection. During the operation, DSS operatives successfully recovered one AK-47 rifle, 984 rounds of 7.6mm ammunition, 105 rounds of 7.82mm ammunition, 14 AK-47 rifle magazines, three Point-of-Sale (POS) machines, and N200,200 in cash. Security sources indicated that the individuals were transporting these weapons and ammunition from Bantaje village in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba for delivery to a notorious bandit kingpin, who remains at large.

In a related development, Halima Haliru Umar, a suspected arms courier, has pleaded guilty to charges of illegal possession of ammunition at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The DSS apprehended Umar in Plateau State, where she was found in possession of 302 live rounds of ammunition, which she allegedly intended to deliver to a bandit leader. During the court proceedings, a DSS witness testified, tendering the recovered ammunition, the investigation report, the defendant’s statements, and money recovered from her as evidence. Justice Haywa Joseph Yilwatda, the presiding judge, has adjourned the matter until May 8 for sentencing.

These arrests underscore the intensified efforts by the DSS to combat criminal elements and dismantle arms supply networks across the country. The secret police have been actively disrupting supply chains linked to banditry and terrorism in Nigeria, leading to several significant arrests. Recent successes include the apprehension of Shafiu Usman, a suspect linked to an attack on the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Aiyetoro, Kabba/Bunu LGA of Kogi State, as well as suspects connected to the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State. These operations highlight the DSS's ongoing commitment to enhancing national security and bringing perpetrators of criminal acts to justice.