DSS intercepts arms cache in Sokoto as gangs deploy female couriers
Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has intercepted a major consignment of weapons smuggled from the Niger Republic, according to a security source.
The haul, comprising 21 AK-47 rifles, four PKT machine guns and 825 magazines, was seized by operatives in Dawakawa, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, following surveillance of suspected terror networks. The operation comes less than 70 days before the 2027 general elections.
Intelligence gathering suggests that increased security interceptions have forced criminal groups to alter their trafficking methods, increasingly relying on women and beasts of burden, such as camels, to move illegal arms.
Earlier in the week, DSS operatives arrested a suspected female arms courier, Hafsat Umar, in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State. She was allegedly found in possession of 12 grenades and two ammunition belts.
According to the security source, Ms Umar is the 14th female arms courier arrested by the service between February 2025 and November 2026. Intelligence reports indicated she had travelled to source ammunition for delivery to a suspected bandit leader, Saidu Marafa, in Maradun Local Government Area.
Similar arrests have been recorded across several states, including Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Taraba, Kaduna and Plateau. In September 2026, two suspects, Chika Aguzie and Blessing Nwamba, were detained in Ebonyi State over the alleged supply of weapons and explosives to commanders of the outlawed Eastern Security Network.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has previously secured convictions in related cases, sentencing three women — Halima Abdullahi, Safiya Salihu and Halima Umar — to 20 years’ imprisonment each on terrorism charges.
A security source confirmed that Ms Umar would also face prosecution.
“Like the others before her, Hafsat Umar will also be charged to court, and the DSS will use intelligence at their disposal to bring other criminals to justice,” the source said, adding that the service would sustain its operations against illegal arms trafficking.