Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court has
sentenced a woman, Halima Haliru Umar, to 20 years in prison after finding her
guilty of unlawful possession of 302 rounds of AK-47 ammunition and attempting
to support terrorist activities.
Umar was prosecuted by the Department of State
Services, DSS, following her arrest in Plateau State.
During her arraignment on March 11, she pleaded guilty
to two counts out of a four-count charge filed against her. The two counts
related to unlawful possession of live AK-47 ammunition and attempting to
provide support for acts of terrorism.
After her guilty plea, Justice Yilwa adjourned the
case for judgment on the counts admitted by the defendant.
Delivering judgment, the court held that Umar
voluntarily pleaded guilty and accepted the facts presented by the prosecution
without raising any defence.
Her counsel, Hamza Dantani, pleaded for leniency,
describing her as a first-time offender who showed remorse and did not waste
the court’s time.
Dantani also told the court that the convict is a
nursing mother with a one-year-old child, who was allegedly arrested alongside
her. He urged the judge to temper justice with mercy.
Prosecution counsel, Callistus Eze, informed the court
that the prosecution had no record of any previous conviction against Umar.
After a brief suspension of proceedings, Justice Yilwa
sentenced Umar to 20 years imprisonment on count three and one year
imprisonment on count four.
The judge later adjourned the matter until July 9 for
the commencement of trial on counts one and two, to which the defendant had
pleaded not guilty.
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