The Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai, to 25 years’ imprisonment each for illegally exporting Nigeria’s mineral resources.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Akintayo Aluko found the duo guilty on a five-count charge and ordered that all the mineral resources recovered from them be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The court sentenced each defendant to 25 years in prison, with the option of paying a ₦10 million fine on each count.
The two convicts were arraigned alongside Gao Pei Yu, who remains at large.
According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the defendants conspired on May 28, 2025, to deprive the Federal Government of revenue from the nation’s solid mineral resources by attempting to export mica, copper-bearing and lithium-bearing minerals without obtaining the required approvals.
The commission further alleged that on May 9, 2025, the defendants unlawfully possessed various mineral resources intended for export without legal authorisation.
The EFCC said the offences violated Section 1(8)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983.
The conviction is the latest in a series of cases involving Chinese nationals in Nigeria.
In February, the Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced Huang Haoyu and An Hongxu to 46 years’ imprisonment each after convicting them on charges related to cybercrime and money laundering.
Similarly, in June 2025, nine Chinese nationals were sentenced to one year in prison each after being found guilty of cyber-terrorism and internet fraud.