The convictions were handed down by Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, after the defendants pleaded guilty to charges bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful possession and exportation of mineral resources without lawful authority.
The Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction and sentencing of two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai, to five years' imprisonment each for conspiracy and the illegal mining and attempted export of Nigeria's solid mineral resources.
The convictions were handed down by Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, after the defendants pleaded guilty to charges bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful possession and exportation of mineral resources without lawful authority.
The two defendants were arraigned on a five-count charge relating to conspiracy and the illegal possession of mineral resources intended for export without the approval of the appropriate Nigerian authorities.
According to one of the charges presented before the court, the defendants, alongside Gao Pei Yu, who is currently at large, conspired in 2025 to unlawfully export valuable solid minerals, including mica products, copper-bearing minerals and lithium-bearing mineral resources, with the intent to defraud the Federal Government of Nigeria of revenue.
