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The federal government on Thursday arraigned five men before the Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged plot to supply 15 AK-103 rifles and 1,434 rounds of live ammunition to a suspected Boko Haram member operating in Niger State, a hotspot in the Nigerian worsening insecurity in the country.
The defendants are Yusuf Muhammad, also known as Bature; Goni Ibrahim Bindi, also known as Goni Mutuwa; Sani Tukur, also known as Danladi; Mubarak Ibrahim; and Musa Alhaji Adamu, also known as Gado Banufe.
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They face four charges of terrorism, unlawful possession of firearms and providing support to a terrorist organisation.
The indictment was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who led the prosecution alongside M. A. Oladunjoye on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
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The defendants were represented by their lawyer, Akilahyel Shetima.
According to the charges, the accused persons allegedly conspired between 23 and 24 April 2026 to assist a terrorist by playing different roles in the transportation of 15 AK-103 rifles and about 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition from the Diffa Region of the Republic of Niger into Nigeria.
The Diffa Region, which borders north-eastern Nigeria, has long been identified by security analysts as part of the wider Lake Chad Basin insurgency corridor where Boko Haram and its splinter groups have operated across porous borders between Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
Prosecutors alleged that the weapons were intended for one Malam Ahmad, whom they described as a Boko Haram member based in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
They further alleged that the defendants facilitated the movement of the weapons and ammunition on behalf of the suspected terrorist operative, thereby providing material support for acts of terrorism.
According to the government, the alleged offences contravene Sections 26(1) and 13(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
One of the counts specifically accuses Goni Ibrahim Bindi, Sani Tukur and Musa Alhaji Adamu of unlawful possession of the firearms and ammunition.
The charge stated that the three men were arrested on 24 April at the Kwangila area along the Kano-Kaduna Expressway in Zaria, Kaduna State, while allegedly transporting the weapons.
Prosecutors alleged that the 15 AK-103 rifles and 1,434 rounds of ammunition were concealed inside sacks of dried fish and loaded into a blue Volkswagen Golf 3 vehicle bearing Republic of Niger registration number BT 9990 DA.
Security and arms-tracking reports have repeatedly shown that traffickers across the Sahel often use commercial goods and agricultural produce as cover for transporting illicit weapons along informal border routes.
The feeral government also levelled a separate allegation against the first defendant, Yusuf Muhammad.
It alleged that between February 2025 and April, he possessed information that could have materially assisted security agencies in locating and prosecuting Malam Ahmad, who was said to be hiding in the Gandu Forest in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
However, prosecutors claimed that he failed to disclose the information to relevant law enforcement and security agencies, an act said to be contrary to Section 16 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
In the proof of evidence filed before the court, the prosecution listed the defendants’ confessional statements, attestation forms, investigators’ reports and other documentary evidence it intends to rely on during the trial.
It also indicated that investigating officers and other witnesses would be called to testify in support of the charges.
A case summary accompanying the charge stated that the defendants were arrested following intelligence reports of an alleged plan to move weapons from the Republic of Niger to a suspected terrorist enclave in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
According to investigators, the second and third defendants allegedly received the weapons consignment in the Diffa Region of Niger Republic before they were intercepted while transporting it towards Nigeria.
READ ALSO: Court jails gunrunner 20 years for terrorism offences
The prosecution further alleged that the first and fourth defendants had travelled from Borgu to Zaria on the instructions of Malam Ahmad to receive the consignment from the couriers and facilitate its delivery to the suspected terrorist in a forest within Borgu Local Government Area.
The five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following their arraignment, the court adjourned the matter for trial while it considered issues relating to their continued detention and the bail applications filed on their behalf.
Under Nigerian law, the charges remain allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty by the court.
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