A Kaduna State High Court has sentenced Aisha Abubakar to five years’ imprisonment for unlawfully possessing 500 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition allegedly destined for bandits in Katsina State.
Justice John Ambi delivered the judgment on October 15, 2026, convicting her under Section 393 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017. A certified copy, signed on October 19, was made available to journalists in Abuja on October 26.
The court ordered that her sentence should run from the date she was remanded in custody, allowing her detention period to count towards the term.
Abubakar was arrested on June 23, 2024, along the Zaria-Kaduna Highway while travelling towards Katsina State. She pleaded not guilty when arraigned on May 6, 2026.
The prosecution called ASP Abdullahi Ibrahim of the Kaduna State Criminal Investigation Department’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit, who presented the ammunition, its alleged packaging and Abubakar’s statement to investigators as evidence.
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Abubakar denied knowing about the bullets, claiming police discovered them during a search of the vehicle in which she was travelling. She also alleged that officers assaulted her and obtained her statement under duress. During cross-examination, she maintained that she had been beaten but admitted she had no photograph to support the claim.
Defence counsel Victor Fredrick argued in a written address dated May 15, 2026, that the prosecution had not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Prosecuting counsel Emmanuel Ekpenyong, acting with the authority of the Kaduna State Attorney-General, addressed the admissibility of Abubakar’s statement and the evidence against her.
In sentencing her, Ambi said he had considered the plea for leniency and submissions from both sides, while highlighting the security risks associated with the alleged movement of the ammunition.
The case follows another ammunition-related prosecution in May 2026, when the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Halima Haliru Umar to 20 years’ imprisonment on a terrorism-related count involving the transportation of 302 rounds of AK-47 ammunition. She also received a one-year sentence for unlawful possession, with both terms ordered to run concurrently.
Umar’s case involved a federal terrorism-related offence, while Abubakar was convicted of unlawful possession under Kaduna State law.