Truck driver jailed for illegal mining, court orders forfeiture of 25 tons of lithium in Kwara

Abimbola Awogboro, of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, has convicted and sentenced Kasimu Bawa, a 50-year-old truck driver, to two years’ imprisonment for unlawful possession and transportation of lithium-bearing minerals valued at about N2.4 million.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of 25 tons of the seized minerals and the truck used in conveying them to the Federal Government.

Bawa was prosecuted by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a one-count charge bordering on possession of minerals without lawful authority.

According to court documents, the offence was committed in September 2022 at Share, along Tsaragi Road in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, where the defendant was intercepted while transporting the minerals in a DAF truck bearing registration number KEY 777ZF.

The prosecution told the court that the minerals, valued at N2,498,000, were being conveyed without the required legal authorisation, contrary to the provisions of the Miscellaneous Offences Act of 1984.

The charge against the defendant stated that he unlawfully possessed 25 tons of minerals transported in the truck with chassis number KLRAD85XCOE603462, an offence punishable under Section 1(8)(b)(i) of the Act.

Bawa pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned on November 1, 2022, prompting the commencement of a full trial.

During the proceedings, the prosecution presented two witnesses, including a Chief Remote Sensing Officer with the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, Ifarinde Odeyemi, and the investigating officer in the case.

Odeyemi informed the court that laboratory analysis conducted on the seized substances confirmed them to be lepidolite, a lithium-bearing mineral widely sought after for industrial and energy-related applications.

The defence also called two witnesses, including the defendant himself, in an attempt to challenge the allegations.

In his final written address, prosecuting counsel, Innocent Mbachie, urged the court to convict the defendant, arguing that the prosecution had successfully established its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

He also prayed the court to order the forfeiture of both the truck and the minerals to the Federal Government.

Delivering judgment, Awogboro found the defendant guilty as charged and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment with an option of a N5 million fine.

The court further ordered that the truck used in transporting the minerals, alongside the 25 tons of lepidolite, be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

Bawa’s arrest followed an operation by operatives of the EFCC’s Ilorin Zonal Directorate on September 9, 2022, during which he was apprehended at Share, along Tsaragi Road, while allegedly transporting the minerals suspected to have been illegally mined.

Investigations later linked the truckload of minerals to Gang Deng, a Chinese national, who had allegedly purchased the minerals without a licence.

According to a statement by Dele Oyewale, EFCC Spokesman, Gang Deng was earlier convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment by the same court on October 19, 2022, over offences related to illegal mineral dealings.