A Chief Magistrate Court Grade I in Jalingo, Taraba State, has sentenced three individuals arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) to 10 years imprisonment without the option of a fine for their involvement in arms trafficking.
The convicts Sakina Garba, Ali Gono, and Ibrahim Abdulrashid were arrested between January and February 2026 following intelligence reports about an illegal arms supply operation in the state.
According to security sources, the suspects were intercepted along the Wukari–Jalingo road in Taraba State while transporting weapons concealed inside two sacks of food items.
Items recovered during the operation included one AK-47 rifle, 984 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 105 rounds of 7.82mm ammunition, and 14 AK-47 magazines. Operatives also recovered three POS machines and N200,200 in cash from the suspects.
Investigators said the weapons were allegedly being transported from Bantaje village in Wukari Local Government Area and were meant to be delivered to a bandit kingpin who remains at large.
Meanwhile, in a related development, another suspect, Halima Haliru Umar, who was arrested by DSS operatives, pleaded guilty before a Federal High Court in Abuja to the illegal possession of 302 rounds of live ammunition.
Security authorities say the arrests form part of ongoing efforts to dismantle arms trafficking networks believed to be supplying weapons to bandits and other criminal groups operating in parts of northern Nigeria.
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