The Federal Government has accused an embattled mining company, Jupiter Ltd, of planning what it described as a smear campaign against Nigeria during the ongoing state visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the United Kingdom.
According to the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, the alleged campaign is an attempt by the company to discredit the government after regulatory actions were taken against a Nigerian firm linked to one of its directors.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, the ministry’s Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, said earlier reports sponsored by the company were false and misleading. The reports were published under the headline “Nigeria Seizes British Lithium Project Under Armed Guard.”
Tomori noted that the minister’s media adviser, Kehinde Bamigbetan, had already responded to the allegations in a rebuttal titled “In Nigeria’s Mining Sector, The Law Is No Respecter of Persons.”
The ministry clarified that the Federal Government has no legal or contractual relationship with any company called Jupiter Lithium.
“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 prohibits granting mining licences to foreign companies,” Tomori said.
The ministry explained that the dispute stems from the revocation of mineral licences belonging to Basin Mining Ltd, a Nigerian company allegedly linked to Australian national Steve Davis.
According to the statement, the licences were revoked after the company failed to pay mandatory annual service fees despite receiving official notices.
Tomori said the company owed the government about ₦2.49 billion in unpaid service charges for mineral titles covering the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
“The mineral titles were revoked due to the company’s failure to pay statutory annual service fees totaling ₦2,494,000,000 for several licences,” he explained.
The ministry also dismissed claims that the revoked licences were handed over to a Chinese company, describing the allegation as completely false.
“Jupiter, which is unknown to Nigeria’s mining authorities, falsely claimed that the revoked titles were transferred to a Chinese firm. This claim is entirely fabricated,” Tomori said.
He further alleged that Davis operates through multiple companies to obtain mineral licences without actually carrying out mining operations. According to the ministry, he is listed as a director in six companies, including Comet Minerals Ltd, Basin Mining Ltd, Range Mining Ltd, Northern Numero Ltd, Sunrise Minerals Ltd, and Iron Ore Mining Ltd.
The ministry warned that such practices contribute to illegal mining by allowing speculators to hold licences without developing the sector, thereby preventing serious investors from participating.
It stressed that the Federal Government would not tolerate any actions aimed at undermining the ongoing reforms in the mining industry.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria will not be intimidated or blackmailed into abandoning reforms by the actions of any individual or company,” the statement said.
The ministry also reaffirmed its commitment to making the mining sector a major contributor to Nigeria’s economy and its Gross Domestic Product.
Tomori added that Nigeria remains open to genuine investors who are willing to operate within the country’s laws, noting that incentives such as tax waivers on imported mining equipment and the full repatriation of profits have been introduced to encourage responsible investment.
