Court Jails Two Chinese Nationals Five Years Over Illegal Mining

A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai, to five years’ imprisonment each for their involvement in illegal mining activities and the unlawful export of Nigeria’s solid minerals.

The conviction was secured 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 defendants were arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful possession and attempted export of mineral resources without the approval of the appropriate authorities.

According to the EFCC, the two men, alongside one Gao Pei Yu, who is currently at large, conspired in 2025 to illegally export mica products, copper-bearing and lithium-bearing mineral resources from Nigeria, allegedly with the intent to deprive the Federal Government of legitimate revenue from the country’s solid minerals sector.

Both defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them.

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Following the guilty plea, the prosecution counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, presented the Commission’s investigating officer, Matthew Orogwu, who reviewed the facts of the case and tendered documentary evidence linking the defendants to the offences.

After considering the evidence, Justice Aluko found the defendants guilty on all five counts and sentenced each of them to five years’ imprisonment on each count, with an option of a combined ₦50 million fine covering the offences.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of all recovered mineral resources connected to the case to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The judgment marks another milestone in the EFCC’s ongoing efforts to combat illegal mining and protect Nigeria’s solid mineral resources from illicit exploitation and unauthorized export.