Court jails 2 illegal miners, fines mining company N1m in Kwara

By Stephen Oladele

The Federal High Court in Ilorin has sentenced two persons,  Samuel Sunday and Saheed Lawal Akanji to 12 months imprisonment each, over illegal mining.

The two people were sentenced after they had been convicted of illegal mining activities which contravene the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007.

They were charged to the court by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Sunday was arraigned on a one-count charge, and Akanji and his company, Saaskrona Nigeria Limited, were separately arraigned on a two-count charge, before Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the High Court.

An intelligence received by the EFCC alleging that some individuals were illegally dealing in and processing solid minerals in Kwara State without the requisite licences had led to the arrest and eventual prosection of the convicts.

Acting on the intelligence, the EFCC operatives carried out surveillance, which led to the arrest of a number of suspects.

While Sunday was arrested at his factory located in the Olorunda Area, beside Deeper Life Camp, Eiyenkorin, Akanji was arrested at his factory opposite Ojaja University, along Passa Road, Eiyenkorin, Kwara State.

The antigraft agency said its investigations revealed that the convicts were unlawfully dealing in and processing various solid minerals, including Smithsonite, Calcite, Anhydrite, Tennantite, and Quartz, without the licences required under the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007.

The charge against Sunday reads:

“That you, SAMUEL SUNDAY,  sometime in June, 2026, within the judicial division of the Federal High Court, did possessed minerals without permit contrary to the provisions of Section 93, read along with Section 131 (d) of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 and punishable under Section 134 (b) of the same Act”

Count One of the charges against Akanji and Saaskrona Nigeria Limited reads:

“That you, SAASKRONA NIGERIA LIMITED and SAHEED LAWAL AKANJI (Director Saaskrona Nigeria Limited), sometime in June, 2026, within the judicial division of the Federal High Court, did possessed minerals without permit, contrary to the provisions of Section 93, read along with Section 131 (d) of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 and punishable under Section 134 (b) of the same Act”

The defendants, upon arraignment, pleaded guilty to their respective charges.

Following the guilty pleas, counsel to the EFCC, Rashidat Alao, reviewed the facts of the cases and tendered documentary evidence as well as the minerals recovered during the investigation. 

In her judgment, Justice Awogboro sentenced Sunday to 12 months’ imprisonment or an option of a fine of N2 million. 

The court also ordered the forfeiture of the 140 tonnes of mineral ore recovered at his site to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The judge sentenced Akanji to 12 months’ imprisonment or an option of a fine of N1 million, while Saaskrona Nigeria Limited was fined N1 million. 

The court also ordered the forfeiture of the 90 tonnes of minerals recovered from the company’s site to the Federal Government of Nigeria.