Operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, have arrested a 25-year-old woman, Nafisa Usman, for allegedly supplying ammunition to bandits operating in parts of northern Nigeria.
Security sources said she was apprehended at a major motor park in Kano while allegedly in possession of 200 rounds of newly acquired ammunition. The consignment was reportedly transported from Lafia in Nasarawa State and was being moved onward to Kankara in Katsina State.
According to the sources, the operation followed actionable intelligence that tracked the suspect’s movement. Usman, said to be a native of Zango village in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, was intercepted before the delivery could be completed. Investigators alleged that the ammunition was meant for criminal elements operating in the Kankara forest.
During interrogation, the suspect allegedly confessed that she had been involved in the illegal trade for about two months. She reportedly told investigators that the consignment was handed to her by a man identified only as “Teso,” whom she claimed works with a military operative based in Lafia.
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She further alleged that she had moved ammunition through Unguwa Uku motor park in Kano and facilitated transactions worth more than ₦5 million for delivery to recipients in Katsina State.
Security sources said the supplies were intended for a bandit leader identified as Mallam Haruna, who is believed to be active around the Kankara axis. The suspect also allegedly named two other recipients, Buba and Abu, said to be operating within the same forest belt. She further claimed that a Kano-based livestock trader, identified as Sulaiman, introduced her to the network.
The arrest adds to a growing list of recent interceptions linked to ammunition trafficking routes serving armed groups in the North-West. In March, troops and DSS operatives arrested another female courier in Kano while she was allegedly transporting 884 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition believed to be headed from Plateau State to bandits in Zamfara State. Authorities said she confessed to having carried out similar deliveries in the past.
In a separate operation in Zamfara, security operatives arrested a 25-year-old suspect, Mannir Adam, who was allegedly found with 800 rounds of AK-47 ammunition concealed inside the fuel tank of a motorcycle. Investigators said the ammunition was picked up in Kaduna State and was being transported to Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara, an area repeatedly linked to bandit activity.
Similar concerns have also emerged from within and around the security system itself. In 2022, troops in Borno arrested a serving soldier accused of stealing and supplying ammunition to criminal gangs, while police in Zamfara arrested a former lance corporal, Sa’idu Lawal, over allegations that he supplied rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition to bandits across several northern states.
Taken together, the cases underline the persistence of illicit logistics networks that move weapons and ammunition across state lines to armed groups. For the DSS and other security agencies, the latest arrest is likely to be seen as part of a broader effort to disrupt supply chains sustaining bandit operations in Katsina, Zamfara and neighbouring states.
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