Seven Chinese nationals and four Nigerians have been detained by the offices of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Yugo, Nigeria, for allegedly engaging in illegal mining in Akwa Ibom State.
Dele Oyewale, the head of EFCC’s media and publicity division, made this known in a statement on Tuesday.
The suspects were apprehended on July 24, 2025, according to Oyewale, at the Emem-Asuk community in the Eastern Obolo Local Government Area, where they were operating two illegal mining operations without the necessary permits.
The Chinese nationals arrested include Yang Chaobao (32), Zhong Dun Yi (33), Cheng Jiang (35), Zhong Dun Long (37), Pan Peiming (33), Lai Yiping (37), and Zhu Lekun (35). David Israel (18), Jonah Bartholomew Jim (24), Samuel Samuel Timothy (20), and Comfort Gabriel Ajaga (23), who also served as a translator, were identified as their Nigerian accomplices.
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After already having worked at their first location to extract ilmenite, known as “black sand,” they were discovered setting up equipment at a second mining site, according to the statement.
Comfort Gabriel Ajaga, the only woman interrogeeeeeer, claimed that because of her fluency in Mandarin, a widely used Chinese language, she only had to use translation services for translation purposes.
“I’m a student at a learning facility in Anambra State, studying Chinese.” I am the only translator I have ever worked with.
Source: Channels TV
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