Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a woman, Halima Haliru Umar, to 20 years imprisonment after convicting her on charges related to unlawful possession of ammunition and attempting to support acts of terrorism.
The conviction followed her guilty plea to two counts in a four-count charge filed against her by the Department of State Services.
Halima had pleaded guilty during her arraignment on March 11 to charges involving unlawful possession of 302 rounds of AK-47 live ammunition and attempting to render support for terrorist activities.
According to court proceedings, the DSS arrested the defendant in Plateau State.
Following her plea, the court reviewed the facts presented by the prosecution in relation to counts three and four before adjourning for judgment on the charges she admitted to.
In her judgment, Justice Yilwa stated that the convict admitted the charges through her guilty plea and did not present any evidence in her defence.
The defence counsel, Hamza Dantani, appealed to the court to show leniency during sentencing.
Dantani argued that the defendant was a first-time offender who showed remorse and cooperated with the court process by not wasting judicial time on the counts to which she pleaded guilty.
He also informed the court that the convict is a nursing mother with a one-year-old child who was reportedly arrested alongside her.
The lawyer urged the court to temper justice with mercy.
Counsel for the prosecution, Caliistus Eze, told the court that the prosecution had no record of any previous conviction against the defendant.
After briefly suspending proceedings, Justice Yilwa returned to deliver the sentence.
The court sentenced Halima to 20 years imprisonment on count three and one year imprisonment on count four.
Justice Yilwa also adjourned the matter until July 9 for the commencement of trial on counts one and two of the charge, to which the defendant pleaded not guilty.
