A Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, has sentenced a 50-year-old truck driver, Kasimu Bawa, to two years imprisonment for unlawful possession and transportation of solid minerals valued at N2.4 million.
The conviction was secured by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as part of its ongoing crackdown on illegal mining activities across the country.
According to a statement obtained by The Quick PR from the official Facebook page of the EFCC, Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Ilorin delivered the judgment after finding Bawa guilty of the charge brought against him by the anti-graft agency.
The EFCC disclosed that Bawa, who hails from Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, was arrested on September 9, 2022, by operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Directorate at Share, along Tsaragi Road in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The commission stated that the convict was intercepted while transporting 25 tons of suspected illegally mined lithium minerals estimated to be worth N2.4 million.
The anti-corruption agency further revealed that the truck driven by Bawa was allegedly used to convey the minerals on behalf of a Chinese national identified as Gang Deng, who had earlier been convicted by the same court over illegal mining activities.
Gang Deng was sentenced to five years imprisonment on October 19, 2022, following his prosecution by the EFCC.
In addition to the jail term handed to Bawa, the court also ordered the forfeiture of the 25 tons of lithium minerals to the Federal Government.
The EFCC reiterated its commitment to tackling illegal mining and other economic crimes, warning individuals and organisations involved in unlawful exploitation of the nation’s mineral resources to desist from such activities.