The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ilorin Zonal Directorate on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, secured an interim attachment order on nine trucks loaded with assorted solid minerals, as well as the final forfeiture of the contents of another truck, in a sustained crackdown on illegal mining activities in Kwara and Oyo States.
This was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by Dele Oyewale, Head, Media & Publicity of the commission.
According to the statement, after the EFCC filed an ex parte application, Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Ilorin issued the ruling.
On February 1, 2026, Commission agents conducted a sting operation that resulted in the trucks being seized and the arrest of multiple suspects. The minerals were allegedly mined and transferred without legal license, according to investigations.
In accordance with Sections 6(d), 7(2), and 34(1) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004, as well as Section 329 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the Commission thus petitioned the court for an interim attachment of the cars.
Cosmas Ugwu, the attorney for the EFCC, moved the application, pleading with the court to issue an injunction prohibiting the trucks and their contents from being disposed of, sold, leased, mortgaged, or tampered with until the investigations were over.
Ali Aji Muhammad, an EFCC investigator, provided a ten-paragraph statement supporting the motion, stating that the trucks were recovered transporting solid minerals obtained from unlicensed miners.
In her ruling, Justice Awogboro allowed the application and mandated that the nine trucks and the minerals they contained be temporarily forfeited.
Among the affected vehicles are a Howo truck with registration number TRE 419 YJ, a Shacman truck with registration number AAA 95 YN, a DAF truck with DKU 566 XA, and a Dongfeng truck with registration number T23-938-LA.
As a related development, the court also ordered the final confiscation of solid minerals found in a truck registered under the license plate LRN 122 XXX. This was after the property was deemed unclaimed and later acquired by the Commission.
