Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin the Kwara State capital, North-Central Nigeria has convicted and sentenced a 50-year-old truck driver, Kasimu Bawa, to two years imprisonment for unlawful possession of 25 tons of lithium-bearing minerals valued at about N2.4 million.
Justice Abimbola Awogboro delivered the judgement following Bawa’s prosecution by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over illegal mining activities in Kwara State.
According to the anti-graft agency’s verified social media handles, the court heard that Bawa, an indigene of Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, was arrested on September 9, 2022, at Share along Tsaragi Road in Edu Local Government Area while transporting the minerals in a DAF truck without lawful authority.
During the trial, the prosecution presented witnesses, including a Chief Remote Sensing Officer of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, Ifarinde Odeyemi, who confirmed through laboratory analysis that the seized minerals were lepidolite, a lithium-bearing mineral.
In his judgement, Justice Awogboro found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to two years imprisonment with an option of N5 million fine, while also ordering the forfeiture of the truck and the 25 tons of minerals to the Federal Government.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
