Court jails 2 Chinese for illegal mining in Kwara

The Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, has convicted and sentenced two Chinese, Yang Chao and Wu Shan Chuan, to prison for illegal mining of solid minerals in the state.

The Chinese were convicted along with their company, Crius Chemical Nigeria Limited.

They were prosecuted on a one-count charge, bordering on dealing with illegal solid minerals mining.

The charge read: “That you, Yang Chao, Wu Shan Chuan, and Crius Chemical Nigeria Limited, sometime in March 2024, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, engaged in dealing with minerals without lawful authority, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 134(b) of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007.”

The Chinese pleaded “guilty” when the charge was read to them.

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The EFCC counsel, Sesan Ola, reviewed the facts of the case through a witness, an operative of the commission, who tendered the defendants’ extra-judicial statements, a report from the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency, and the defendants’ passports, all of which were admitted in evidence.

Satisfied that the prosecution has proven its case beyond reasonable doubts, the presiding judge, Justice Abimbola Awogboro, on Friday, March 7, 2025, found the defendants guilty, convicted, and sentenced them to two years imprisonment each or to pay N1 million fine, respectively.

The N1 million fine was also extended to the company.

In addition to their sentences, the Chinese were ordered to remit the sum of N14 million in royalties to the federal government while all solid minerals found in the premises of the company in Ogun State were forfeited to the federal government.

The Star