The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has secured the conviction and sentence of two Chinese men, Zhang Lin, and Gao Hai, before Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, for conspiracy and the illegal mining of solid minerals.
According to a statement shared on the EFCC’s X account on Friday, the defendants were arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful possession of mineral resources intended for export without lawful authority.
One of the charges read, “That you, Zhang Hong Lin, Gao Pei Hai, and Gao Pei Yu (currently at large), sometime in 2025 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, conspired among yourselves, with the intent to defraud the Federal Government of Nigeria of revenue accruing therefrom, and without the permission of the appropriate authority, engaged in the exportation of mica products, copper-bearing, and lithium-bearing mineral resources out of Nigeria, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 1(8)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983, and punishable under Section 8 of the same Act.”
