Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin 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 N2.4 million. Justice Abimbola Awogboro also ordered the forfeiture of the DAF truck used to convey the minerals as well as the lithium ore itself to the Federal Government. The judgment was delivered on Monday, May 11, 2026, following a prosecution by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Bawa was arraigned on November 1, 2022, on a one‑count charge bordering on possession of minerals without lawful authority. The charge stated that in September 2022, at Share along Tsaragi Road in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, he came into possession of 25 tons of minerals worth N2,498,000 conveyed in a DAF truck with registration number KEY 777ZF, an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 1(8)(b)(i) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1984. The defendant initially pleaded not guilty, prompting a full trial.
During the proceedings, the prosecution called two witnesses, including a Chief Remote Sensing Officer of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Ifarinde Odeyemi, who testified that laboratory analysis confirmed the seized minerals to be lepidolite, a lithium‑bearing mineral. The defence also presented two witnesses, including the defendant himself. In his final address, prosecuting counsel Innocent Mbachie urged the court to convict Bawa, arguing that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. He also requested the forfeiture of the truck and the 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 further ordered the forfeiture of the truck and the 25 tons of lithium minerals to the Federal Government.
The convict’s journey to the correctional centre began on September 9, 2022, when operatives of the EFCC Ilorin Zonal Directorate arrested him at Share along Tsaragi Road while transporting the illegally mined minerals. Bawa was the driver of the truck carrying minerals allegedly purchased without a licence by a Chinese national, Gang Deng, who was earlier convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment on October 19, 2022, by the same court.
The conviction and forfeiture order send a strong signal that the judicial system is determined to crack down on illegal mining and mineral trafficking, which have cost the nation billions in lost revenue. The EFCC has reiterated its commitment to pursuing all persons involved in the illegal exploitation of Nigeria’s solid minerals, regardless of their status.
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