Illegal Mining Crackdown: Chinese Nationals and Firm Convicted in Ilorin Court
Two Chinese nationals, Yang Chao and Wu Shan Chuan, have been sentenced to jail for engaging in illegal solid mineral mining activities in Kwara State. The pair were convicted alongside their company, Crius Chemical Nigeria Limited, by Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Ilorin.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), through its Ilorin Directorate, prosecuted the defendants on a one-count charge related to unauthorised involvement in solid minerals mining. The court's ruling underscores efforts to enforce regulations and curb illegal mining operations within the state.
The charge sheet 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.”
They pleaded “guilty” when the charge was read to them. Following this, 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 had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, Justice Awogboro found the defendants guilty, convicting and sentencing them to two years' imprisonment each or an option of a N1 million fine. The N1 million fine was also extended to the company.
In addition to their sentences, the convicts are required to remit N14 million in royalties to the federal government, while all solid minerals found on the premises of their company, located at No.1 Idi Ope Road, along Ogunmakin-Odeda Road, Omi, Ogun State, were forfeited to the federal government, according to a statement by Dele Oyewale, Head of Media and Publicity for the anti-graft agency.
Cloud Tag: What's trending
Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.
Overland Tunji Folami Christopher Odetunde Kupchi Hosea Maxwell Sobi Specialist Hospital Doyin Awoyale Baba Idris Kwara State Television Ayodele Shittu Oyin-Zubair Rachael Obisesan NaAllah Raliat Elelu-Habeeb Olokoba Sulyman S.O. Opowoye Abdulrazaq Aiyelabegan Suleiman Yahya Alapansapa Aasiyat Bello Oyedepo Abdullah Janet Amudat Olupako Lasiele Alabi Yahaya Bisi Kristien Yahaya Oloriegbe Abiodun Jacob Ajiboye Ubandoma Of Ilorin Ali Ahmad GAMA IYA YUSUF Matthew Okedare Tosho Yaqub Oyun Olawuyi Ajeigbe Unicontinental Construction Company Oke-Odo Senior Special Assistant On Student Affairs Adedipe Yetunde Balogun Shaykh Luqman Jimoh Kwara NIPR April 11 Lateef Alagbonsi Omoniyi Ayinla Mamatu Abdullahi Umar Ahmed Gunu Harafat E. Mukadam Facemasks Oba-Solagberu Ghali Muhammed Mahmud Ajeigbe Centre For Community Empowerment And Poverty Eradication Kabir Shagaya Muhammadu Gobir Kwara Liberation Group Ganmo Code Of Conduct Tribunal Forgo Battery Company Limited Shehu Adaramaja Lawal Jimoh Emir Of Yashikira Razak Atunwa Jamiu Oyawoye Hamza Usman Lawyers Unite Against Corruption Akume Unilorin FM AbdulKareem Yusuf Danhawa Okedare Elesie Of Esie Sodiya Olatomiwa Williams Iponrin Abdulganiyu Salahudeen Bio Ibrahim Yoonus Kola Olatinwo Zulu Gambari Kwara TV

