Lagos, Nigeria – June 4, 2025
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, on Wednesday arraigned two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Zhao Pei Hai, before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, over alleged illegal dealing in Nigeria’s mineral resources.
The suspects were brought before the court on a five-count charge bordering on unlawful possession and illegal exportation of valuable mineral resources, including mica, copper-bearing, and lithium-bearing materials.
One of the charges reads:
“That you, Zhang Hong Lin, Zhao Pei Hai, and Gao Pei Yu (now at large), sometime in 2025 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, conspired among yourselves and with intent to defraud the Federal Government of Nigeria of the revenue accruing therefrom, and without the permission of the appropriate authority, engaged in the exportation of Mica Products, Copper-bearing, and Lithium-bearing mineral resources out of Nigeria, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983, and punishable under Section 8 of the same Act.”
The accused persons pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges read before them.
Following their plea, the prosecution counsel, Bilkisu Buhari, who appeared alongside C.C. Okezie and H.U. Kofarnaisa, requested that the court fix a date for trial and order the remand of the defendants at a Correctional Centre.
The defence counsel urged the court to remand his clients in EFCC custody pending the hearing of their bail application. However, Justice Aneke denied the request and ordered that the suspects be remanded in a Correctional Centre.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter to July 4, 2025, for the commencement of trial.
This development underscores the Federal Government’s ongoing crackdown on illegal mining and mineral smuggling, which authorities say has resulted in billions of naira in lost revenue and environmental degradation.