A Nigerian court has sentenced four Chinese nationals to five years in prison for involvement in illegal mining activities.
The Federal High Court in the north-central city of Jos in Plateau State convicted Liang Quin Yong, Wang Huajie, Zhong Jiajing, and Long Kechong on Thursday.
They pleaded guilty after being charged with unlawful purchase of mineral resources. Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which prosecuted the Chinese nationals, said the case was proven ‘‘beyond reasonable doubt."
The court has given them an option of paying a fine of one million naira ($650) and ordered their deportation from Nigeria after serving the penalty.
According to the ruling, the convicts are also to forfeit all 134,874,769 naira ($84,000), proceeds of the crime, and 16,000,000 naira ($10,000) as an administrative fine for failure to report a financial transaction within seven days to the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering.
Lead poisoning have been traced to artisanal gold mining activities, which causes environmental contamination and the poisoning of hundreds of residents.
Deportation order
The Nigerian authorities have also confiscated mineral resources from the Chinese.
The court has ordered their deportation from Nigeria after serving the penalties and that they be banned from entering the country in the future.
The four Chinese nationals were arrested in March at a mining site operated by JLM Mining company on the outskirts of Jos, the capital of Plateau state, "following credible intelligence," the EFCC said in a statement.
In recent years, there has been a growing presence of Chinese nationals and firms in various economic activities in Nigeria, including mining.
However, they are often accused of illegal activities leading to arrests and prosecutions in some cases.
Besides oil, Nigeria is also rich in gold, limestone, lithium, iron ore, and zinc.
Nigeria has around 23 mineral deposits in commercial quantities, according to officials.
Nigeria is seeking to revamp a mining sector that has long been underdeveloped, contributing less than 1% to its gross domestic product.
