A Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, has sentenced a 50-year-old truck driver, Kasimu Bawa, to two years in prison for unlawful possession of 25 tonnes of lithium-bearing minerals valued at about N2.4 million, with an option of a N5 million fine.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Abimbola Awogboro, who also ordered the forfeiture of the truck used in transporting the minerals, as well as the seized materials, to the Federal Government.
The conviction followed prosecution by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which said the case was part of its ongoing clampdown on illegal mining activities in Kwara State.
According to the EFCC, Bawa was arrested on September 9, 2022, at Share along Tsaragi Road in Edu Local Government Area while conveying 25 tonnes of suspected illegally mined minerals in a DAF truck.
The agency stated: “The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC has secured the conviction of a 50-year-old truck driver, Kasimu Bawa, from Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, for unlawful possession of minerals valued at N2.4m.”
It added that the minerals were transported in a truck with registration number KEY 777ZF and were later confirmed to be worth N2,498,000.
Investigations revealed that the minerals were allegedly purchased without a mining licence by a Chinese national, Gang Deng, who had earlier been convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in a related case.
Bawa was arraigned on November 1, 2022, on a one-count charge of unlawful possession of minerals without authority. He, however, pleaded not guilty, leading to a full trial.
During the hearing, the prosecution called witnesses, including officials from the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, who confirmed that laboratory analysis identified the substance as lepidolite, a lithium-bearing mineral.
In his final submission, prosecution counsel Innocent Mbachie urged the court to convict the defendant, insisting that the evidence proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and also requested forfeiture of the truck and minerals.
Delivering judgment, Justice Awogboro found Bawa guilty and sentenced him to two years imprisonment with an option of a N5 million fine.
The court also granted the EFCC’s request, ordering the forfeiture of the truck and the 25 tonnes of lithium minerals to the Federal Government.
