The Federal Government has accused embattled mining firm Jupiter Ltd of planning a smear campaign against Nigeria during the upcoming visit of President Bola Tinubu to the United Kingdom.
Officials said the alleged move is aimed at discrediting Nigeria and undermining ongoing reforms in the country’s mining sector.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development said the company intends to circulate false allegations internationally following a dispute over revoked mineral titles.
The ministry’s Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, said the government had already responded to similar claims published in an article titled “Nigeria Seizes British Lithium Project Under Armed Guard.”
According to Tomori, a previous rebuttal by the Special Adviser to the minister, Kehinde Bamigbetan, titled “In Nigeria’s Mining Sector, The Law Is No Respecter of Persons,” had addressed and dismissed the allegations.
No Legal Ties With Jupiter
Tomori stated that the government has no legal or contractual relationship with Jupiter Lithium.
He explained that the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 bars the granting of mining licences directly to foreign companies, stressing that the firm cited in the controversy is not recognised by Nigeria’s mining authorities.
The dispute, he said, arose from the revocation of mineral titles held by Basin Mining Ltd, a Nigerian company allegedly fronted by an Australian national identified as Davis.
According to the ministry, the titles were revoked after the company failed to pay statutory annual service fees totalling ₦2.494 billion for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
The affected mineral licences include 45454ML, 45117ML, 45118ML, 40532ML and 40533ML.
Government Rejects ‘Chinese Firm’ Claim
Tomori dismissed claims that the revoked licences were transferred to a Chinese firm, describing the allegation as “a complete fabrication”.
He also accused Davis of operating through several companies to acquire mineral licences without undertaking actual mining activities.
The firms listed include Comet Minerals Ltd, Range Mining Ltd, Northern Numero Ltd, Sunrise Minerals Ltd and Iron Ore Mining Ltd.
Crackdown on Speculative Licences
The ministry warned that such practices contribute to illegal mining and block genuine investors from developing Nigeria’s mineral resources.
It said reforms under the Tinubu administration aim to clean up the sector and attract credible investors with the capital to develop mining projects.
Tomori stressed that Nigeria would not be “intimidated or blackmailed” into abandoning its reforms.
The government also reaffirmed that Nigeria remains open to legitimate investors, highlighting incentives such as tax waivers on imported mining equipment and the full repatriation of profits to encourage responsible investment.
