A Federal High Court sitting in Minna, Niger State, has sentenced five men to one year in prison each for illegal possession and mining of precious stones without a license.
Justice Abdullahi M. Dan-Ige found the defendants—Yusuf Amadu, Babila Sani, Ibrahim Umar, Ephraim Jonas Okoro, and Saidu Mohammed—guilty of violating provisions of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007.
The men were prosecuted by the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on separate one-count charges.
According to the EFCC, the convicts were arrested in November 2024 in Minna and Kacha Local Government Areas following credible intelligence linking them to illegal mining activities.
The charges against them, including those against Amadu and Umar, stated that they were found in possession of precious stones without a valid license—offences punishable under Sections 131(d) and 134(b) of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act.
All five defendants pleaded guilty.
While prosecution counsel K.S. Ogunlade urged the court to convict and sentence them, the defence appealed for leniency, stating that the accused showed remorse.
Justice Dan-Ige sentenced each defendant to one year in prison or a fine of N100,000.00.
