Four convicted Chinese illegal miners who were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) each got the opportunity to avoid jail term with a N1 million fine option, according to a Plateau Federal High Court ruling.
Liang Quin Yong, Wang Huajie, Zhong Jiajing and Long Kechong were arrested on March 8 at the JLM Mining company site after the anti-graft agency was tipped by an intelligence report of “Chinese suspected to be involved in illegal mining activities in Jos, Plateau State”.
“That you, Liang Quin Yong on or about the 9th of March, at Dura Rayfield axis of Jos, Plateau State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did commit an offence to wit; without lawful authority engaged in the purchase of Minerals Resources and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 1(8)(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983,” the charge against Liang Quin Yong read.
Against Wang Huajie, the one-count charge read: “That you, Wang Huajie on or about 9th of March, at Dura Rayfield axis of Jos, Plateau State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did commit an offence to wit; without lawful authority engaged in the purchase of Mineral Resources and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 1(8)(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act 1983.”
The charge against against Zhong Jiajing read: “Zhong Jiajing on or about on or about 9th of March, at Dura Rayfield axis of Jos, Plateau State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did commit an offence to wit; without lawful authority engaged in the purchase of Mineral Resources and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 1(8)(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act 1983.”
The one-count charge against Long Kechong also read: “That you, Long Kechong on or about 9th of March, at Dura Rayfield axis of Jos, Plateau State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did commit an offence to wit; without lawful authority engaged in the purchase of Mineral Resources and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 1(8)(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act 1983.”
The four criminals pleaded ‘guilty’ to the charges read against them.
Dorcas V. Agishi, the judge presiding over the case, sentenced the four Chinese nationals to five years imprisonment with a N1 million fine option each. The judge sentenced them for the “unlawful purchase and possession of mineral resources”.
Amidst other proceeds Agushi ruled should be remitted to the Federal Government of Nigeria, Liang Quin Yong was ordered to forfeit N134,874,769 which were the proceeds of illegally purchasing some mineral resources.
The High Court additionally ruled the forfeiture of the entire mineral resources recovered during the course of the investigation, with up to N16.3 million as an administrative fine for failing to report a financial transaction within seven days to the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering as stipulated by Section 11 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Illegal miners have been avoiding jail terms with fines in Nigeria for years.
In a 2024 FIJ undercover investigation of the activities of illegal lithium miners in Daba, a camp inside the Old Oyo National Park, some of the convicted Chinese illegal miners, by just getting a court order, were asked to simply pay a fine to escape time in prison. This is despite the fact that the Miscellaneous Offences Act, under which the miners were charged, says that unlawful miners “shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for life“.
Among many others who have been similarly arrested in the past, Gang Deng, a Chinese national who was caught for illegal mining in Kwara State in October 2022, was handed a five-year jail or the option to pay a N1 million fine.
