A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has sentenced two Chinese nationals to five years’ imprisonment each for conspiracy and the illegal mining and attempted export of solid minerals.
The convicts, Zhang Lin and Gao Hai, were found guilty after pleading guilty to a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful possession and export of mineral resources without lawful authority.
The charge alleged that Zhang Hong Lin, Gao Pei Hai and another suspect, Gao Pei Yu, who is currently at large, conspired in 2025 to export mica products, copper-bearing and lithium-bearing mineral resources from Nigeria without the approval of the appropriate authorities.
According to the prosecution, the illegal export was intended to defraud the Federal Government of revenue accruing from the country’s mineral resources, contrary to the provisions of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983.
After the defendants pleaded guilty to all five counts, prosecution counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, called the investigating officer, Matthew Orogwu, who reviewed the facts of the case before the court and tendered documentary evidence to support the charges.
Satisfied that the prosecution had established its case, Kofarnaisa urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants in accordance with the law.
In his judgment, Justice Aluko convicted both defendants on all five counts and sentenced each of them to five years’ imprisonment on each count, with an option of paying a ₦50 million fine covering all five counts.
The court also ordered that all the recovered mineral resources linked to the case be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.