Katsina Court Sentences Woman to Death for Supplying Bandits Ammunition

A Federal High Court in Katsina State handed down a capital sentence to Hauwa'u Mukhtar for her role in transferring ammunition to armed bandits. The court determined her guilty of conspiracy connected to terrorism and facilitating terrorist operations after hearing presentations from both prosecutors and defence counsel, which included evidence and witness testimonies.

During an operation on September 16, 2023, agents from the Department of State Services apprehended Mukhtar at Jibia Motor Park within Katsina State. Upon apprehension, security personnel recovered 438 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition in her possession, which she intended to move to another location.

Documentation from the judicial proceedings indicates the weaponry was bound for delivery to a notorious bandit commander positioned in Zamfara State's Dunburum Forest region. The state's legal team established that Mukhtar participated with knowledge and intent in criminal facilitation by moving large weapon supplies to armed groups.

This represents a second capital conviction issued by the DSS in a terror-related case over recent months. In June, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja condemned four men to hang for their roles in the June 5, 2022 attack against St.

Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, where many lives were lost. The Katsina case proceedings rested on dual counts filed against the defendant, with Justice B.

Bawal overseeing the trial at the high court's local bench. The prosecution of Mukhtar demonstrates Nigeria's commitment to pursuing those who furnish weapons to bandit organisations destabilising the northwestern territories.

Criminal gangs active throughout Katsina and Zamfara engage in kidnapping, cattle rustling, and violent raids. The verdict signals the judiciary's determination to apply maximum penalties against persons convicted of arming such organisations.