RismadarVoice Reporters
May 11, 2026
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 of mineral resources valued at ₦2.4 million.
Justice Abimbola Awogboro delivered the judgment after finding Bawa guilty of a one-count charge filed by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The convict was arraigned on November 1, 2022, over unlawful possession of minerals without authorisation.
According to the charge, Bawa was arrested in September 2022 at Share along the Tsaragi Road in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State while transporting about 25 tons of minerals in a DAF truck. The minerals, valued at ₦2,498,000, were allegedly conveyed without legal approval, an offence said to contravene provisions of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.
He initially pleaded not guilty, leading to a full trial.
During the proceedings, the prosecution called two witnesses, including an official of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Ifarinde Odeyemi, and an investigating officer. The defence also presented two witnesses, including the defendant.
The NGSA official told the court that laboratory tests confirmed the seized substance as lepidolite, a lithium-bearing mineral.
In his final address, prosecution counsel Innocent Mbachie urged the court to convict the defendant and grant forfeiture of the truck and minerals to the Federal Government, arguing that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Delivering judgment, Justice Awogboro sentenced Bawa to two years imprisonment with an option of a ₦5 million fine. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the truck and the seized minerals to the Federal Government.
The court noted that the defendant was arrested by operatives of the EFCC on September 9, 2022, while conveying the suspected illegally mined minerals.
Reports further indicated that the truck was allegedly used to transport minerals purchased without a licence by a Chinese national, Gang Deng, who had earlier been convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment by the same court in October 2022.
