Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, based on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, have arrested two Chinese nationals and six Nigerians for their alleged involvement in illegal mining activities in the Ogere area of Ogun State.
The suspects — Zhang Hang Lin, Gao Pei Hai, Matthew Mathias, Oluwaseun Amoo, Wasiu Ademola Alao, Ajibola Nurudeen, Ibrahim Yinusa, and Saidu Shuaibu — were apprehended on Friday, May 9, 2025, during a sting operation following credible intelligence and surveillance conducted by the Commission.
At the time of arrest, three trucks loaded with sacks of what is suspected to be ground lithium powder were recovered, along with other unidentified solid minerals.
Further items seized from the suspects include a Toyota 4Runner SUV, mobile phones, samples of suspected low-grade lithium, ATM cards, passports, four LED flashlights, and various documents believed to be relevant to the investigation.
The EFCC stated that the suspects would be charged to court upon the conclusion of ongoing investigations.
In a related development, the EFCC had in January arraigned 13 Chinese nationals before Justice Deinde Dipeolu at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The Commission’s legal team, led by Director of Legal Affairs, Larry Peters Aso, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, and two others, presented charges under Sections 18 and 27 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024.
The defendants, arraigned alongside Genting International Co., were accused of deliberately accessing computer systems to destabilise Nigeria’s constitutional framework, and of employing Nigerian youths for identity theft while falsely presenting themselves as foreign nationals to gain financial advantage.
The charges were read in Mandarin via an interpreter, and all defendants pleaded not guilty.
Similarly, in February, the EFCC arraigned 20 foreign nationals — 15 Filipinos, one Indonesian, and four Chinese — before Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged cybercrimes and attempts to disrupt Nigeria’s socio-economic stability.
They were among 193 foreign nationals and 599 Nigerians arrested in December 2024 during a surprise raid at the Big Leaf Building in Victoria Island, Lagos, following actionable intelligence.