A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced a female arms courier, Halima Haliru Umar, to 20 years in prison.
The landmark judgment follows her conviction for the unlawful possession of military-grade weaponry and deliberate attempts to render logistics support for horrific acts of terrorism across the country.
The convict had previously been intercepted and arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) during a targeted counter-terrorism operation in Plateau State.
Upon her formal arraignment on March 11, Umar chose not to waste the judicial time of the court and entered a guilty plea to counts three and four of the four-count charge brought against her by the federal government.
The presiding judge, Justice Hauwa Yilwa, noted that the defendant's voluntary admission of guilt meant she accepted the severe facts presented by the state prosecution without offering any legal defense.
Before the final sentencing was delivered, the defense counsel, Hamza Dantani, passionately appealed to the court to temper justice with mercy, noting that his client was a first-time offender who showed immense remorse.
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He added that Umar was a nursing mother with a vulnerable one-year-old infant who had been in custody with her since the initial arrest.
The prosecution counsel, Callistus Eze, confirmed to the court that the state held no prior criminal records against the defendant.
However, while acknowledging her lack of a criminal history, Justice Yilwa emphasized the catastrophic societal impact of arms trafficking before delivering her final sentence.
The judge sentenced Umar to 20 years of imprisonment on count three regarding ammunition possession, and a concurrent one-year sentence on count four for terrorist logistics.
The court subsequently adjourned proceedings until July 9 to commence a full trial for counts one and two, to which the convict had pleaded not guilty.
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