BY SUNDAY SAMUEL—Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, has convicted and sentenced a 50-year-old truck driver, Kasimu Bawa, to two years imprisonment for unlawful possession of lithium-bearing minerals valued at N2.4 million.
Bawa was arraigned by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on November 1, 2022, on a one-count charge bordering on unlawful possession of minerals without lawful authority.
According to the charge, the defendant was found in possession of 25 tons of minerals valued at N2,498,000 in September 2022 at Share, along Tsaragi Road in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State. The minerals were being transported in a DAF truck with registration number KEY 777ZF.
The offence was said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 1(8)(b)(i) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1984.
Bawa pleaded not guilty to the charge, leading to a full trial before the court.
During the trial, the prosecution presented two witnesses, including a Chief Remote Sensing Officer of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Ifarinde Odeyemi, and the investigating officer. The defence also called two witnesses, including the defendant himself.
Odeyemi informed the court that laboratory analysis conducted on the seized minerals confirmed them to be lepidolite, a lithium-bearing mineral commonly associated with lithium extraction.
In his final written address, prosecuting counsel, Innocent Mbachie, urged the court to convict the defendant on the grounds that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. He also requested the forfeiture of both the truck and the seized minerals to the Federal Government.
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 ordered the forfeiture of the truck and the minerals to the Federal Government.
The court heard that Bawa was arrested by operatives of the EFCC on September 9, 2022, while transporting the suspected illegally mined minerals along Share-Tsaragi Road in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State.
Investigations revealed that the truck was allegedly being used to transport minerals purchased without a valid licence by a Chinese national, Gang Deng, who had earlier been convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment by the same court on October 19, 2022.
The conviction is part of ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to clamp down on illegal mining activities and enforce compliance with Nigeria’s mining regulations.
