By Muyideen Aliyu
In a continued effort to clamp down on illegal mining, the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of a 50-year-old truck driver, Kasimu Bawa.
Bawa, a native of the Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, was found in unlawful possession of lithium valued at ₦2.4 million.
Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Ilorin sentenced Bawa to two years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty of the charges brought by the EFCC.
Bawa was the driver of a truck used to convey minerals allegedly purchased without a license by a Chinese national, Gang Deng, who was previously convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in 2022 by the same court.
Bawa was originally arrested by EFCC operatives in 2022 at Share, along Tsaragi Road in the Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State.
At the time, he was transporting 25 tons of illegally mined minerals. During the trial, the prosecution called two witnesses, including Ifarinde Odeyemi, a Chief Remote Sensing Officer (CRSO) of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA).
Odeyemi confirmed through laboratory analysis that the seized minerals were lepidolite, a lithium-bearing mineral.
Justice Awogboro sentenced Bawa to two years in prison with an option of a ₦5 million fine. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the truck and the minerals to the Federal Government.
