Court Jails Two Chinese Nationals Over Illegal Mining

The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai, to prison for conspiracy and the illegal mining of solid minerals.

Justice Akintayo Aluko handed down the judgment after the two men pleaded guilty to a five-count charge filed against them by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The charges bordered on conspiracy and the unlawful possession and attempted export of mineral resources without the required authorisation.

Following the guilty pleas, the EFCC called its investigating officer, Matthew Orogwu, who presented the facts of the case and tendered documentary evidence before the court.

Relying on the evidence and the defendants’ admission of guilt, the prosecution urged the court to convict and sentence them in accordance with the provisions of the law.

In his ruling, Justice Aluko found both defendants guilty on all five counts and sentenced each of them to five years’ imprisonment on each count.

The judge, however, gave each convict the option of paying a fine of ₦50 million covering all five counts.

The court also ordered that the mineral resources recovered during the investigation be forfeited to the Federal Government.

According to one of the charges, the convicts, alongside Gao Pei Yu, who is currently at large, conspired in 2025 to illegally export mica, copper-bearing and lithium-bearing mineral resources from Nigeria without the approval of the appropriate authorities.

The EFCC alleged that the offence was committed with the intent to deprive the Federal Government of revenue accruing from the nation’s mineral resources.

The anti-graft agency said the offence contravened Section 1(8)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983, and is punishable under Section 8 of the same Act.