Court orders forfeiture of  truck with assorted minerals in Kwara

By Muyideen Aliyu, llorin

The Federal High Court in Ilorin, presided over by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola (Jr), on Tuesday ordered the final forfeiture of a truck loaded with assorted solid minerals to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The vehicle, which had been seized by operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was declared forfeited following an application filed by the anti-graft agency.

In delivering his ruling, Justice Ariwoola stated that the EFCC had successfully persuaded the court on why the truck and its contents should be forfeited, describing the application as justified and properly supported.

Presenting the motion, EFCC counsel Sesan Ola informed the court: "My Lord, this application seeks a final forfeiture order in respect of a truck with registration number PKA216YR, along with the solid minerals it contains, which came into the possession of the Commission as unclaimed property."

Ola cited Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, No. 14 of 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution as the legal basis for the application.

The EFCC, in a 17-paragraph affidavit deposed to by one of its operatives, Jesse Chong, stated that the Commission received intelligence in June 2024 suggesting that certain individuals were engaged in illegal mining, purchase, and possession of solid minerals within Kwara State.

Despite an earlier interim forfeiture order granted by the court, the owner of the truck and the 30 tonnes of solid minerals it carried failed to come forward for investigation or to claim the property.

In his ruling, Justice Ariwoola confirmed that the EFCC had presented adequate justification for the forfeiture and granted the order as requested.