Security operatives have arrested a 25-year-old woman, Nafisa Usman, in Kano for allegedly transporting ammunition believed to be destined for bandits operating in Katsina State, in a development that highlights growing concerns over the role of female couriers in arms trafficking networks in the North-West.
Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) apprehended the suspect at a major motor park in Kano while she was reportedly attempting to move about 200 rounds of live ammunition concealed in a package.
Security sources confided that the arrest followed intelligence that led operatives to intercept the suspect shortly after she arrived in Kano from Nasarawa State.
Investigators disclosed that Usman, who hails from Zango village in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, allegedly purchased the ammunition from contacts in Lafia, Nasarawa State, with the intention of transporting the consignment to Katsina.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly confessed that the ammunition had been delivered to Unguwa Uku motor park in Kano for onward transportation to bandits operating in forests around Kankara.
She also told investigators that she had been involved in the trade for about two months, claiming that a man identified as “Teso,” allegedly working with a soldier in Lafia, usually supplied the consignments.
According to the suspect, the ammunition was meant for a bandit leader identified as Mallam Haruna, said to be operating within the Kankara forest axis.
Usman further alleged that she was introduced to the suspected bandit by a Kano-based livestock trader identified as Sulaiman.
She told operatives that transactions linked to the supply of ammunition had reached about ₦5 million, involving Haruna and other suspected bandits identified as Buba and Abu.
Security sources said investigations are ongoing to dismantle the wider network behind the supply chain.
The DSS said further arrests are expected as efforts intensify to track down suppliers and collaborators linked to the cross-border ammunition trafficking ring.
Source:Businessday
