By Stella Odueme
The Kaduna State High Court has sentenced Aisha Abubakar to five years in prison for unlawful possession of 500 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition allegedly destined for bandits in Katsina State.
Justice John Ambi handed down the sentence on October 15, 2026, after finding Abubakar guilty of unlawful possession of weapons under Section 393 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017.
The certified true copy of the judgment, signed by the judge on October 19, was made available to journalists on Monday in Abuja.
The court directed that the sentence should take effect from the date of her detention under a remand order, allowing the period already spent in custody to count towards the five-year term.
In arriving at the decision, Justice Ambi said he considered the defendant's plea for mercy and the arguments presented by counsel on both sides.
The judge expressed concern over the potential consequences of the ammunition reaching its alleged destination, given the security challenges confronting the country.
During the allocutus, Abubakar pleaded with the court to be lenient, explaining that she had children and was their only parent.
Her counsel, Victor Fredrick, also appealed for mercy, telling the court that his client had spent more than two years in custody.
Fredrick urged the judge to take the period of detention into consideration when determining the sentence.
However, prosecution counsel Emmanuel Ekpenyong called for a punishment that would deter others, citing the prevalence of the offence and the security situation in Kaduna State and across the country.
Ekpenyong, a private legal practitioner with Fred-Young & Evans LP, prosecuted the case under a fiat granted by the Kaduna State Attorney-General.
In his final written address dated June 8, 2026, the prosecution counsel raised four issues for determination, including whether the absence of Inspector Abu Sarki affected the admissibility of Abubakar's extra-judicial statement.
He also questioned whether her failure to object when the statement was tendered and admitted in evidence affected the weight the court should attach to it.
The prosecution further argued the issues of whether the evidence established the offence beyond reasonable doubt and whether the court could convict on the strength of unchallenged and uncontroverted evidence.
In response, defence counsel Fredrick, in his final written address dated May 15, 2026, challenged the prosecution's ability to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt.
According to the amended charge, marked KDH/KAD/45C/2025 and filed on May 4, 2026, Abubakar was allegedly found in possession of 500 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition without a licence or lawful authority on June 23, 2024.
She was arraigned on May 6, 2026, and pleaded not guilty.
During the trial, the prosecution called one witness, ASP Abdullahi Ibrahim of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department.
Ibrahim, who testified as PW1, tendered the ammunition, a brown piece of clothing in which the bullets were allegedly wrapped, a polythene bag used to carry them and Abubakar's extra-judicial statement dated June 23, 2024.
Testifying in her defence, Abubakar denied knowing anything about the exhibits allegedly recovered from her possession.
She told the court that she was travelling to Katsina State for a condolence visit when police officers stopped the vehicle and searched the passengers and their luggage.
According to her, the officers claimed to have found ammunition in her bag and attempted to take her photograph.
She alleged that when she refused, they slapped her, tied her hands and beat her before taking her to a room, where she was locked up.
She said she was subsequently transferred to Kaduna the following day.
Under cross-examination by Ekpenyong, Abubakar disclosed that she was born in Dan-Musa Local Government Area and was travelling there when she was arrested.
When confronted with information contained in her extra-judicial statement, she maintained that she made the statement after being beaten. However, she admitted that she had no photograph to substantiate her allegation of assault.
She also confirmed that she was not the only female passenger in the vehicle but was the only one arrested.
Abubakar was arrested by the Kaduna State Police Command along the Zaria-Kaduna Highway on June 23, 2024.
Following her arrest, she was paraded alongside other suspects at the command headquarters on June 27, 2024.
Reports at the time indicated that she confessed to receiving N50,000 per trip to transport ammunition to bandits in Katsina State.