The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested 14 Chinese nationals and a Nigerian at four illegal lithium processing facilities in the Ogere area of Ogun State.
The suspects were apprehended on Friday, October 23, 2026, by operatives of the commission’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 following intelligence gathering and surveillance.
The EFCC disclosed the arrests in a statement posted on its official X handle on Monday, adding that several items were recovered during the operation.
The recovered items included bags of lithium rocks, 18 mobile phones, four laptops, two decoders, a television remote control and a trailer truck.
The commission said investigations were ongoing and that the suspects would be charged in court upon their conclusion.
The arrests come amid growing concerns over illegal mining and the unauthorised processing of mineral resources in Nigeria, where lithium has attracted increasing interest because of its use in battery production and energy storage.
In a related development, the EFCC recently arraigned two lovers, Marian Elia, 19, and Izuchukwu Uzoma, 21, over the alleged theft of ₦35.92m belonging to a woman, Esther Ogbeifun, in Benin City, Edo State.
The defendants were arraigned on a seven-count charge bordering on cybercrime, conspiracy and stealing.
The commission alleged that Elia, who grew up in the victim’s home, used her access to the woman’s phones and banking details to transfer the funds into an account belonging to Uzoma, her boyfriend.
Similarly, in May, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency uncovered a Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine syndicate operating from a concealed laboratory in a forest in Ogun State.
The operation, which involved coordinated raids in Ogun and Lagos states, led to the arrest of three Mexican chemists and several Nigerian suspects.
The NDLEA described the operation as the largest seizure of clandestinely produced methamphetamine in Nigeria’s history.
