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LAGOS, Nigeria - The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai, in the Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged illegal mining and possession of mineral resources.
They face five charges related to conspiracy, illegal mining, and unlawful possession of minerals, including lithium and copper.
The defendants were presented before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke on Wednesday and are charged along with another Chinese national, Gao Pei Yu, who is currently on the run.
The prosecution, led by Bilikisu Buhari-Bala with colleagues Chinenye Okezie and Hanatu Kofanaisa, claims the defendants plotted to defraud the Federal Government by conducting illegal mining and exporting mineral resources without proper authorization.
Buhari-Bala informed the court that the alleged offenses occurred in May 2025. The prosecution accuses the trio of conspiring to unlawfully export various mineral resources, such as Mica products, copper-bearing and lithium-bearing minerals, without approval from the relevant authorities.
They were also charged with possessing “T-12078LA Muscovite and Leidolite Mica Minerals, LSR585XD Spodumene and Petalite Lithium-bearing minerals, LSR585XD Anhydrite, Quartz, Magnesite, Bornite, and Cuprite Copper, as well as APP379XW Spodumene and Petalite Ores of Lithium for exportation.”
The prosecution asserts that their actions violated Sections 8(a) and 8(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act of 1983, which carries penalties under the same statute.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges. After their plea, the prosecution requested the court to hold them at a correctional facility and sought a trial date.
However, defense attorney Jeremiah Okoro requested that they be held in EFCC custody so he could present a bail application. Consequently, Justice Aneke ordered that the two defendants be taken to the Ikoyi Correctional Centre and postponed the case until July 4, 2025, for trial.
