Olukayode Ariwoola (Justice) of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin has ordered the final forfeiture of a truck and its consignment of assorted solid minerals to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The forfeiture comes amid a crackdown on illegal mining activities in Kwara State.
The order, issued on Tuesday, followed an application by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which argued that the seized truck and its contents were unclaimed and linked to illegal mining operations.
In his ruling, Ariwoola held that the EFCC had successfully convinced the court that the truck, bearing registration number PKA216YR, along with approximately 30 tons of assorted solid minerals, was used in unlawful activity and that the owners had failed to come forward, despite public notice.
The EFCC’s legal representative, Sesan Ola, while moving the motion, said the Commission acted based on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which empower authorities to confiscate unclaimed properties linked to criminal activity.
Read also: FG restrains illegal mining, orders miners to vacate Zamfara sites
“My Lord, our application is seeking a final order of this Honourable Court forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria the truck with registration number PKA216YR and the minerals contained therein, which came into possession of the operatives of the applicant as unclaimed property,” Ola told court.
In a 17-paragraph affidavit filed in support of the application, EFCC operative Jesse Chong disclosed that intelligence gathered in June 2024 had implicated certain individuals in illegal mining, purchase, and possession of solid minerals in Kwara State.
Chong added that despite an earlier interim forfeiture order and a public notice published in Leadership Newspaper, no individual or entity had come forward to claim ownership of the vehicle or the mineral cargo, raising further suspicion about the legality of the consignment.
Ariwoola, while granting the final forfeiture order, noted that the EFCC had provided adequate grounds to justify the confiscation and ruled in favour of the Commission’s application.
