Nigeria's government charges Chinese citizens over alleged illegal mining

The Nigerian government on Wednesday arraigned three Chinese nationals and their company over alleged illegal mining activities.

Song Fei, Li Teng Fei, and Fei Shan, along with their firm, Lian Hua Quarry Nigeria Limited, faced three charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Charges

The Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) is prosecuting the defendants on behalf of the federal government. 

In the charges with scanty details, the prosecution accused the defendants of illegal mining activities without naming the mineral resources involved.

The charges disclosed that the offences were committed between 13 August 2022 and 18 February 2023, but did not disclose where it took place.

The prosecution accused the defendants of conspiracy, and, in another count, unlawful mining of "mineral" through "quarrying and carrying out quarrying operations" without lawful authority.

In the third count, the government accused the defendants of undertaking "the exploitation of mineral resources".

The defendants were said to have violated various sections of the country's Miscellaneous Offences Act.

Nigeria has vast reserves of gold, coal, lead/zinc ore, limestone, iron ore, and bitumen, which are largely extracted through artisanal mining.

It has been estimated that the country loses billions of dollars to illegal mining annually