NIGERIA: Kwara Judge Frees Women of Gun Charges, Sentences Robbers to Death

By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria 

A Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin on Monday discharged and acquitted two women, one of them a pregnant mother, who had been standing trial for alleged possession of firearms and aiding kidnapping, citing insufficient evidence by the prosecution.

The two women, Aisha Haruna and Rabi Umar Murtala, were arrested by operatives of the Police Anti-Kidnapping Squad on June 25, 2025, in Babanla community, Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state, after being intercepted in a vehicle suspected to be linked to criminal activities.

According to the prosecution, led by Senior State Counsel, I. B. Olorundare, the women were in a vehicle stopped by security operatives around 5:00 p.m., when an AK-47 rifle and 31 rounds of live ammunition were allegedly discovered in a bag belonging to one of them. Other occupants of the vehicle reportedly fled the scene before they could be apprehended.

The accused were later charged with four counts, including unlawful possession of firearms, aiding and abetting kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy.

However, in a judgment that lasted over an hour, Justice M. O. Folorunso held that the prosecution failed to establish the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

“The evidences of the police witnesses were contradictory,” the judge said, noting that while one of the defendants admitted that a rifle was found in her bag, the police testimony did not clearly specify whether it was an AK-47 or AK-49, leaving doubts about the prosecution’s case.

Justice Folorunso further ruled that there was no credible evidence showing that the defendants had the intent or had conspired to commit any illegal act.

He therefore discharged and acquitted both women of all charges and directed their counsels to provide transportation fare for them to return to their homes in Kaduna and Kanmbi community in Moro Local Government Area.

In a separate case heard the same day, Justice Folorunso convicted and sentenced three members of an armed robbery gang to death by hanging for armed robbery and unlawful possession of firearms.

The gang was found guilty of robbing a man of his Infinix Note 11 smartphone at gunpoint around 6:00 a.m. on March 2, 2024, at Oko Erin area, Ilorin.

Delivering the emotional verdict, Justice Folorunso, who was visibly moved, declared:

“The three young men be hanged by the neck until they die.”

The courtroom was said to have fallen silent as the judge pronounced the death sentence, marking a dramatic contrast to the acquittal of the two women earlier in the day.