- EFCC arraigns two Chinese nationals for illegal mining.
- Defendants pleaded not guilty; one accomplice remains at large.
- Court remands them in Ikoyi prison, trial set for July 4, 2025.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai on charges of alleged illegal mining and possession of mineral resources.
EKO HOT BLOG reports that the foreigners who were arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday, are facing five counts bordering on conspiracy, illegal mining, and unlawful possession of mineral resources, including lithium and copper.
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Lin and Hai were arraigned before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke and charged alongside another Chinese national, Gao Pei Yu, who is currently at large.
The EFCC’s prosecution legal team, led by Bilikisu Buhari-Bala, alongside Chinenye Okezie and Hanatu Kofanaisa, alleged that the trio conspired to defraud Nigeria by engaging in illegal mining and exportation of mineral resources without the required authorisation.
Buhari-Bala told the court that the offences were allegedly committed in May 2025.
The prosecution further alleged that the defendants conspired to illegally export various mineral resources, including Mica products, copper-bearing and lithium-bearing minerals, without the permission of the appropriate authorities.
They were also accused of having in their possession, “T-12078LA, Muscovite and Leidolite, of Mica Minerals; LSR585XD- Spodumene and Petalite of Lithium bearing minerals; LSR585XD- Anhydrite, Quartz, Magnesite, Bornite and Cuprite of Copper and APP379XW-Spodumene and Petalite Ores of Lithium bearing for exportation purposes.
The prosecution added that the offences committed contravened Sections 8(a) and 8(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act of 1983 and are punishable under the same law.
Nevertheless, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them.
Following the non-guilty plea of the defendants, the prosecution urged the court to remand them to the correctional centre and asked for a trial date.
The counsel for the defendants, Jeremiah Okoro, however, urged the court to remand the defendants in EFCC custody to enable him to move the bail application orally.
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Following this, Justice Aneke ordered that the two defendants be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter until July 4, 2025, for trial.
