Truck driver jailed for illegal possession of lithium minerals
A Federal High Court in Ilorin has sentenced Kasimu Bawa, a 50-year-old truck driver, to two years in prison for unlawful possession of minerals. The court also ordered the forfeiture of 25 tons of lithium-bearing minerals and the truck used for transportation. The minerals, valued at N2.4 million, were allegedly purchased without a licence by a Chinese national, Gang Deng, who had previously been convicted. Bawa pleaded not guilty but was found guilty after a full trial.
What happened
- Kasimu Bawa was arrested by the EFCC on September 9, 2022, at Share, along Tsaragi Road in Kwara State.
- The minerals were allegedly bought without a licence by Gang Deng, who was convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the same court on October 19, 2022.
- Bawa was arraigned on November 1, 2022, on a charge of unlawful possession of minerals.
- Laboratory analysis confirmed the seized minerals were lepidolite, a lithium-bearing mineral.
- Justice Abimbola Awogboro sentenced Bawa to two years’ imprisonment with an option of a N5 million fine and ordered the forfeiture of the truck and minerals to the Federal Government.
