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From Taiwo Ogunniyi, Ilorin
The Federal High Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, has convicted two men for illegal mining and unlawful transportation of mineral resources, sentencing each to one year imprisonment and imposing a combined N12 million financial penalty.
The convicts, Mohammed Umar and Usman Ishaku, were sentenced by Justice Abimbola Awogboro after separately pleading guilty to charges filed against them by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Umar was arrested on February 5, 2024, at Share, Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State, for unlawfully possessing 40 tonnes of minerals conveyed in a truck with registration number AAA 998 XH.
The offence contravened Section 1(8)(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1984.
Similarly, Ishaku was charged with unlawfully transporting 20 metric tonnes of minerals in a truck with registration number GSW 410 XA in February 2026, contrary to Section 134(b) of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007.
Following their guilty pleas, EFCC counsel, M.M. Kaigama, urged the court to convict the defendants, arguing that their admissions and the evidence presented before the court had established the offences against them.
In his judgment, Justice Awogboro sentenced Umar to one year imprisonment, with an option of a N1 million fine payable to the Federal Government.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the 40 tonnes of minerals recovered from his truck and directed him to pay N5 million to the Federal Government through the EFCC as compensation for the economic loss caused by his illegal activities.
Ishaku was similarly sentenced to one year imprisonment, with an option of a N1 million fine. He was also ordered to pay N5 million to the Federal Government through the EFCC as compensation for the economic loss occasioned by his illegal mining-related activities.
The convictions underscore the EFCC’s ongoing efforts to tackle the illegal exploitation and transportation of mineral resources, which deprive the government of revenue and undermine the country’s mining sector.
