The Federal Government has alleged that a mining company, Jupiter Ltd, is planning a campaign of negative publicity against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his state visit to the United Kingdom.
According to the government, the alleged move is aimed at discrediting ongoing reforms by the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to sanitise Nigeria’s mining sector.
The allegation was disclosed in a statement issued by Segun Tomori, Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development.
Tomori said the ministry had become aware of plans by the company, which he described as an “embattled mining firm,” to orchestrate a campaign of calumny against the Federal Government during the president’s visit.
“It has come to the attention of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development that an embattled mining firm, Jupiter Ltd, plans to orchestrate a campaign of calumny against the Federal Government of Nigeria during the state visit of President Bola Tinubu to the United Kingdom,” the statement read.
He explained that earlier in the week, the Special Adviser to the minister, Kehinde Bamigbetan, had responded to what he described as false allegations sponsored by the firm in a publication titled “Nigeria Seizes British Lithium Project Under Armed Guard.”
According to Tomori, the government’s response, titled “In Nigeria’s Mining Sector, The Law Is No Respecter of Persons,” addressed the claims and accused individuals, including Steve Davis and Hamish MacDonald, of misleading activities within the mining sector.
He insisted that the allegations were baseless, stressing that the Federal Government, through the ministry and the Nigeria Mining Cadastral Office, had no legal or contractual relationship with any company known as Jupiter Lithium.
Tomori also noted that the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 prohibits the granting of mining licences directly to foreign companies.
He explained that the controversy arose from the revocation of mineral titles belonging to Basin Mining Ltd, a Nigerian company allegedly linked to Australian national Steve Davis.
According to him, the titles were revoked after the company failed to pay statutory annual service fees amounting to ₦2.494 billion for mineral titles 45454ML, 45117ML, 45118ML, 40532ML and 40533ML covering the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
“The revocation followed due notice served on the company in line with extant laws governing default in payment of annual service fees,” he said.
Tomori further alleged that Jupiter, which he said is unknown to mining authorities, falsely claimed that its licences were revoked in favour of a Chinese company.
“This is a complete fabrication,” he stated.
He also accused Davis of operating as a mining speculator who allegedly set up multiple companies to acquire mineral titles without engaging in actual mining activities.
According to the statement, Davis is linked to several companies including Comet Minerals Ltd, Basin Mining Ltd, Range Mining Ltd, Northern Numero Ltd, Sunrise Minerals Ltd and Iron Ore Mining Ltd.
Tomori said such practices have contributed to illegal mining, as some licence holders acquire mineral titles without carrying out genuine operations.
He added that the administration of President Tinubu would not tolerate activities capable of undermining reforms in the mining sector.
“The nefarious activities of the past that stunted the growth of the mining sector will no longer be tolerated. Ongoing reforms that have repositioned the sector and attracted growing global interest have come to stay,” he said.
He urged Nigerians and the international community to disregard what he described as attempts by “discredited individuals” to undermine the government’s reform efforts.
Tomori reiterated that the Federal Government would not be intimidated or blackmailed into abandoning its plans to sanitise the mining sector.
He added that Nigeria remains open to genuine investors willing to operate within the country’s legal framework.
According to him, incentives introduced by the government to encourage responsible investment include tax waivers on imported mining equipment, full repatriation of profits and other measures aimed at improving the ease of doing business in the sector.
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