Two Chinese nationals have been sentenced to five years imprisonment each by the Federal High Court in Lagos after admitting to charges of illegal mining and attempting to export Nigeria’s valuable mineral resources without government approval.
The convicts, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai, were prosecuted by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Akintayo Aluko at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi.
The duo faced a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, unlawful possession of solid minerals and the illegal export of mineral resources, including mica, copper-bearing and lithium-bearing minerals.
According to the EFCC, the defendants conspired with another Chinese national, Gao Pei Yu, who is currently at large, to illegally export the minerals in 2025 without obtaining the necessary approval from the appropriate authorities, thereby depriving the Federal Government of revenue.
One of the charges alleged that the suspects unlawfully engaged in the exportation of the mineral resources in violation of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, an offence punishable under Nigerian law.
When the charges were read in court, both defendants pleaded guilty.
Following their guilty plea, EFCC prosecuting counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, presented the Commission’s investigating officer, Matthew Orogwu, who narrated how the investigation uncovered the illegal operation. The prosecution also tendered documentary evidence linking the defendants to the offences.
Urging the court to uphold the law, the prosecution asked Justice Aluko to convict and sentence the defendants based on the overwhelming evidence and their admission of guilt.
In his ruling, Justice Aluko convicted the two men on all five counts and sentenced each of them to five years imprisonment on each count, with an option of paying a ₦50 million fine covering all the counts.
The court further ordered that all mineral resources recovered during the investigation be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The conviction marks another major success in the EFCC’s ongoing crackdown on illegal mining and the unlawful exploitation of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources, a sector authorities say has continued to suffer huge revenue losses due to illicit activities.
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