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ABUJA, NIGERIA — Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned what it described as a “shocking and dangerously lenient” judicial outcome in the prosecution of two suspected suppliers of sophisticated ammunition to terrorists and criminal networks, questioning how a case involving military-grade weapons allegedly destined for kidnappers could end in a mere 250-day prison sentence.
The pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy organisation said the development represents a disturbing failure of Nigeria’s counter-terrorism and criminal justice systems, warning that such treatment of alleged weapons suppliers could undermine the nation’s fight against terrorism, kidnapping and organised violent crime.
HURIWA specifically faulted the Chief Magistrate Court 1, Dutse-Alhaji, Abuja, and questioned the handling of the prosecution by the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, insisting that the circumstances surrounding the case demand urgent intervention by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, or the Department of State Services (DSS).
The organisation called for an immediate review of the case and, where legally appropriate, an appeal against the judgment to ensure that the suspects are prosecuted under all applicable laws, particularly where the evidence establishes links to terrorism or the supply of weapons to terrorist organisations.
HURIWA said Nigerians should be concerned that suspects allegedly apprehended with substantial quantities of AK-47 ammunition and General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) ammunition could receive what amounts to a relatively short custodial sentence.
The group challenged the Nigeria Police Force to explain why the prosecution was apparently pursued only under the Firearms Act rather than under any applicable counter-terrorism provisions if evidence existed connecting the accused persons to terrorist activities or terrorist supply networks.
“Are the top officers of the Nigeria Police Force not ashamed to publicly celebrate what appears to be a grossly inadequate outcome in a case involving the alleged supply of military-grade ammunition to kidnappers and other criminal elements?” HURIWA asked.
According to the FCT Police Command spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, intelligence-led operations resulted in the arrest of Yau Sule on June 2, 2026, while he was allegedly travelling along the Abuja-Kaduna Highway.
Police said operatives recovered 81 rounds of 7.62mm live AK-47 ammunition and 100 rounds of 7.62mm belted ammunition for a General Purpose Machine Gun.
The police subsequently arrested Yau Sule’s sister, Mariya Sule, following investigations which allegedly established her involvement in the ammunition supply network.
The two suspects were later arraigned before Chief Magistrate Court 1, Dutse-Alhaji, FCT, in charge number CR/DUT/1132/2026 and convicted for unlawful possession of live ammunition under the Firearms Act.
In separate warrants dated August 24, 2026, the court reportedly sentenced each of the convicts to 250 days’ imprisonment without an option of fine, with the sentences to be served at the Suleja Correctional Centre.
But HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, described the punishment as an unacceptable “slap on the wrist”, arguing that the gravity of the allegations warranted far more rigorous prosecution and sentencing if the evidence established that the ammunition was intended for terrorists or kidnappers.
Onwubiko said the Nigerian people, who continue to bear the devastating consequences of terrorism, kidnapping and banditry, cannot afford a justice system that appears to treat alleged weapons suppliers with leniency.
“This is not an ordinary case of possession of a few rounds of ammunition. The police themselves announced the recovery of AK-47 ammunition and belted ammunition designed for a General Purpose Machine Gun and linked the suspects to an alleged ammunition supply network serving criminal elements.
“If the evidence supports the allegation that these weapons were being supplied to terrorists or kidnappers, then the Nigerian state must deploy every applicable law to prosecute such a grave offence.
“Giving such alleged collaborators a sentence of only 250 days creates the dangerous impression that the business of supplying deadly weapons to criminal networks carries little consequence in Nigeria.
“The sentence must not become a revolving door through which alleged suppliers of deadly weapons return to the same criminal networks after a relatively short period.”
HURIWA therefore urged the Attorney-General of the Federation to urgently examine the case file and determine whether the prosecution adequately reflected the full weight of the evidence and applicable Nigerian laws.
The organisation also called on the DSS, within its statutory mandate, to examine whether the case has any wider national-security dimension, particularly if the suspects are connected to organised terrorist or kidnapping networks operating across the North-Central region and the FCT.
HURIWA stressed that its position was not a demand for punishment outside the law, but a call for the full application of the law where evidence establishes serious national-security offences.
“We are not asking for justice to be sacrificed for vengeance. We are demanding justice according to law.
“Where the evidence establishes that individuals supplied sophisticated ammunition to terrorists or organised criminal networks, the Nigerian state must not reduce such a grave national-security matter to a technical possession offence carrying a punishment that lacks meaningful deterrent value.
“The victims of terrorism and kidnapping deserve justice. Nigerian soldiers, police officers and other security personnel confronting heavily armed criminals deserve a justice system that does not inadvertently encourage the supply of weapons to those killing them.
“The Attorney-General of the Federation must urgently look into this matter and, where the law permits, take appropriate steps to challenge an outcome that Nigerians will understandably regard as grossly inadequate.
“The fight against terrorism cannot succeed when the people who allegedly feed the terrorists with weapons are treated as though they committed a minor regulatory offence.
“Nigeria must stop sending the wrong message to arms traffickers, terrorist collaborators and criminal supply networks. Those who arm killers must face the full consequences of the law.”
HURIWA said it would continue to monitor the matter and demanded greater transparency from the police and prosecuting authorities regarding the evidence presented before the court, the charges filed against the suspects and the legal basis upon which the prosecution proceeded.
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