By Achile Danjuma
The Federal Government has alleged that an embattled mining firm, Jupiter Ltd, is planning to orchestrate what it described as a campaign of calumny against Nigeria during the ongoing state visit of President Bola Tinubu to the United Kingdom.
The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD) said the alleged campaign is part of efforts by the company to discredit the government following regulatory actions taken against a Nigerian firm linked to one of its directors.
In a statement made available to journalists on Sunday in Abuja by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, the ministry said earlier claims sponsored by Jupiter Ltd in a publication titled “Nigeria Seizes British Lithium Project Under Armed Guard” were false and misleading.
According to the statement, the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media, Kehinde Bamigbetan, had earlier responded to the claims in a rebuttal titled “In Nigeria’s Mining Sector, The Law Is No Respecter of Persons.”
Tomori said the government had no legal or contractual relationship with any company known as Jupiter Lithium.
He said: “The Federal Government, through the Ministry and the Nigeria Mining Cadastral Office, has no legal or contractual relationship with any company known as Jupiter Lithium, as the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 expressly prohibits the granting of mining licences to foreign companies.”
The ministry explained that the dispute arose from the revocation of mineral titles belonging to Basin Mining Ltd, a Nigerian company allegedly fronted by Australian national, Steve Davis.
According to the statement, the titles were revoked after the company failed to pay statutory annual service fees.
Tomori said: “The bone of contention is the strict application of regulations governing the mining sector, which necessitated the revocation of mineral titles belonging to Basin Mining Ltd after due notice was served on the company in line with extant laws on default in payment of annual service fees.”
He added that the company owed the government ₦2.49 billion in unpaid service fees for mineral titles covering the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
“The mineral titles were revoked due to failure to pay statutory annual service fees amounting to Two Billion, Four Hundred and Ninety-Four Million Naira (₦2,494,000,000) for mineral titles 45454ML, 45117ML, 45118ML, 40532ML and 40533ML,” he said.
The ministry also dismissed claims that the revoked titles were transferred to a Chinese company, describing the allegation as fabricated.
Tomori said: “Jupiter, though unknown to the mining authorities, peddled falsehoods by claiming that its titles were revoked in favour of a Chinese firm. This is a complete fabrication.”
He further accused Davis of operating through several companies to acquire mineral licences without undertaking actual mining operations.
According to him, Davis is listed as a director in six companies — Comet Minerals Ltd, Basin Mining Ltd, Range Mining Ltd, Northern Numero Ltd, Sunrise Minerals Ltd and Iron Ore Mining Ltd.
“Such practices worsen Nigeria’s challenge of illegal mining, as speculators obtain licences without undertaking actual mining operations, thereby denying serious investors with genuine capital the opportunity to develop the sector,” he stated.
The ministry said the Federal Government would not tolerate activities capable of undermining reforms introduced in the mining sector under the current administration.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria cannot and will not be intimidated or blackmailed into abandoning reforms by the antics of any individual or company,” the statement added.
It also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to transforming the mining sector into a major contributor to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Tomori noted that Nigeria remains open to genuine investors willing to operate within the country’s legal framework, adding that incentives such as tax waivers on imported mining equipment and full repatriation of profits have been introduced to encourage responsible investment in the sector.