Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai, to 25 years imprisonment each (totalling 50 years across five counts) for conspiring to illegally export critical solid mineral resources out of Nigeria without regulatory authorization.

The court provided an option of a ₦10 million fine on each count and ordered that the custodial terms commence from the date of their initial arrest, alongside the complete forfeiture of all seized mineral shipments to the Federal Government.

The convicts were prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through prosecution counsel Hasanatu Kofarnaisa on a five-count charge filed on May 28, 2025. A third defendant, identified as Gao Pei Yu, remains at large. According to the anti-graft agency, the defendants conspired in Lagos to bypass federal regulatory channels and deprive the Nigerian government of revenue accruing from solid minerals.

The seized resources included valuable lithium-bearing ores like Spodumene and Petalite, mica products such as Muscovite and Lepidolite, copper-bearing minerals including Bornite and Cuprite, alongside Quartz, Magnesite, and Anhydrite.

Delivering the judgment after reviewing the evidence and testimonies presented by prosecution witnesses, Justice Aluko affirmed that the EFCC established the guilt of the defendants beyond reasonable doubt regarding violations under the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983.

“The court sentenced each of the convicts to 25 years imprisonment after finding them guilty of all five counts bordering on conspiracy, unlawful possession and attempted exportation of lithium-bearing, copper-bearing and other mineral resources without lawful approval,” the court ruling specified, adding that the judicial order mandates “the forfeiture of all the mineral resources involved in the case to the federal government.”