Two Chinese nationals bag 25 years jail term for illegal mining

By Adebola Isimijola, Lagos

Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai, over conspiracy and the illegal mining of solid minerals.

The convicts were each sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on each of the five counts preferred against them, amounting to 25 years in total, with an option of a ₦50 million fine covering all the counts. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the recovered mineral resources to the Federal Government.

The conviction was announced by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which prosecuted the defendants on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful possession and attempted export of mineral resources without lawful authority.

The anti-graft agency said the defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them.

Following the guilty pleas, the prosecution counsel, Hannatu Kofarnaisa, called the investigating officer, Matthew Orogwu, who reviewed the facts of the case and tendered documentary evidence before the court.

After presenting the evidence, Kofarnaisa urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Delivering judgment, Justice Aluko found the two defendants guilty on all five counts and sentenced them accordingly, while ordering that the seized mineral resources be forfeited to the Federal Government.

One of the charges read: “That you, Zhang Hong Lin, Gao Pei Hai, and Gao Pei Yu (currently at large), sometime in 2025 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired among yourselves, with the intent to defraud the Federal Government of Nigeria of revenue accruing therefrom, and without the permission of the appropriate authority, engaged in the exportation of mica products, copper-bearing and lithium-bearing mineral resources out of Nigeria, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 1(8)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983, and punishable under Section 8 of the same Act.”

The EFCC said the conviction underscores its sustained efforts to combat illegal mining and other economic crimes, while warning individuals and syndicates engaged in the unlawful exploitation and export of Nigeria’s mineral resources that they would be brought to justice.