Two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai, have been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment each for illegally dealing in Nigeria’s mineral resources.
Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, handed down the sentence after finding both men guilty in a case brought by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC said the two men were arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful possession and planned export of solid minerals without lawful authority.
Prosecutors told the court that the defendants, alongside one Gao Pei Yu, who is currently at large, conspired in 2025 to export mica, copper-bearing and lithium-bearing minerals from Nigeria without obtaining the required approval, thereby depriving the Federal Government of revenue.
The anti-graft agency said both defendants pleaded guilty to the charges.
Following the guilty plea, the prosecution, led by H.U. Kofarnaisa called the investigating officer, Matthew Orogwu, who reviewed the facts of the case and tendered documentary evidence before the court.
The prosecution then urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants based on the evidence before it.
The court found both defendants guilty on all five counts and sentenced each of them to five years’ imprisonment on each count, with an option of a N50 million fine covering all five counts. Justice Aluko also ordered that all recovered mineral resources be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
(The Whistler)