The Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin , presided over by Justice Muhammed Sani has convicted and sentenced a 29-year-old Chinese National, Gang Deng, to five years imprisonment over offences bordering on illegal mining and possession of crude minerals without lawful authority.
Gang was arrested along Tsaragi Road in Share, Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State on Friday, September 9, 2022 by the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
He was found to be in possession of twenty five tonnes of crude minerals suspected to be lepidolite.
In the charge Sinuo Xinyang Nigeria Ltd and Gang Deng were alleged to have , sometime in the month of September 2022 at Share, along Tsaragi Road in Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, without lawful authority purchased 25 tonnes of mineral worth the sum of N2,490,000.00 (Two Million, Four Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira) .
The charge said the minerals were conveyed in a DAF TRUCK, and thereby committed an offence, contrary and punishable under Section 1 (8) (b) of Miscellaneous Offences Act 1984
Upon his guilt plea, counsel to the EFCC, Innocent Mbachie reviewed the facts of the case and tendered documents, which were admitted in evidence.
In his Judgement Justice Mohammed Sani sentenced Gang to five years imprisonment with option of one million naira only.
The court also ordered that the twenty five tonnes of the mineral recovered from him at the point of arrest be forfeited to the Federal government.
COV/ALI MUHAMMAD RABIU
