The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of two Chinese nationals, Zhang Lin and Gao Hai, for conspiracy and the illegal mining and attempted export of solid minerals.
Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, convicted and sentenced the defendants after they pleaded guilty to a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful possession and intended export of mineral resources without lawful authority.
The EFCC disclosed the development in a statement posted on its official X account on Friday.
According to the anti-graft agency, one of the charges alleged that Zhang Lin, Gao Hai and another suspect, Gao Yu, who remains at large, conspired in 2025 to export mica, copper-bearing and lithium-bearing mineral resources from Nigeria without the approval of the appropriate authorities, with the intent to defraud the Federal Government of revenue.
The charge stated that the offence contravened Section 1(8)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983, and is punishable under Section 8 of the Act.
Following the defendants’ guilty pleas, prosecution counsel, H. U. Kofarnaisa, called the investigating officer, Matthew Orogwu, who reviewed the facts of the case and tendered documentary evidence before the court.
After the prosecution closed its case, Kofarnaisa urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants in accordance with the law.
In his judgment, Justice Aluko found both men guilty 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 five counts.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the recovered mineral resources to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
