Kwara truck driver jailed, ordered to forfeit 25 tons of lithium minerals

A 50-year-old truck driver, Kasimu Bawa, has been sentenced to two years imprisonment for unlawful possession of minerals valued at N2.4million by a Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State

Bawa was arraigned on November 1, 2022, by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Commission on a one-count charge bordering on possession of minerals without lawful authority.

The charge reads: “That you, Kasimu Bawa, sometime in the month of September 2022, at Share, along Tsaragi Road, in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, without lawful authority, came into possession of minerals, to wit: 25 tons of minerals worth the sum of N2,498,000.00 (Two Million, Four Hundred and Ninety-Eight Thousand Naira), conveyed in a DAF truck with Registration Number KEY 777ZF and Chassis Number KLRAD85XCOE603462, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 1(8)(b)(i) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1984.”

The defendant pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him, prompting a full trial.

During the proceedings, the prosecution called two witnesses, including a Chief Remote Sensing Officer (CRSO) of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Ifarinde Odeyemi, and the investigating officer. The defence also presented two witnesses, including the defendant.

Odeyemi told the court that laboratory analysis conducted on the seized minerals confirmed them to be lepidolite, a lithium-bearing mineral.

In his final written address, prosecuting counsel, Innocent Mbachie, urged the court to convict the defendant, having proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. He also requested the forfeiture of the truck and minerals to the Federal Government.

Delivering judgment, Justice Justice Abimbola Awogboro found Bawa guilty and sentenced him to two years imprisonment with an option of N5 million fine. The court further ordered the forfeiture of the truck and the minerals to the Federal Government.

The convict’s journey to the Correctional Centre started when he was arrested by operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC on September 9, 2022, at Share, along Tsaragi Road in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, while transporting 25 tons of suspected illegally mined minerals valued at N2.4 million. He was charged to court and convicted.

The convict was the driver of a truck used in conveying 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.