The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai, over their involvement in the illegal export of Nigeria’s solid minerals.
Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, sentenced the duo after they pleaded guilty to a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful possession and intended export of mineral resources without the required authorisation.
According to the EFCC, the defendants, alongside one Gao Pei Yu, who is currently at large, conspired in 2025 to export mica products as well as copper-bearing and lithium-bearing mineral resources from Nigeria without approval from the appropriate authorities.
The anti-graft agency said the offence contravened the Miscellaneous Offences Act, as the illegal export was aimed at depriving the Federal Government of revenue due from the nation’s mineral resources.
Following the defendants’ guilty pleas, prosecution counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, presented the investigating officer, Matthew Orogwu, who reviewed the facts of the case and tendered documentary evidence before the court.
After considering the evidence, Justice Aluko convicted both men on all five counts and sentenced each of them to five years’ imprisonment on each count, with an option of a ₦50 million fine covering all the counts.
The court further ordered that all recovered mineral resources linked to the case be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
