Operatives from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps’ Mining Marshals unit have closed an unauthorized lithium mining site in Libata, Ngaski LGA of Kebbi State.
The operators stand accused of breaching mining regulations and indirectly stealing over N1.43 trillion from government coffers.
Acting on a federal high court order, investigators connected the illegal mining activities to Three Crown Mines Ltd, which currently faces probes for what authorities describe as “massive mineral theft and repeated violations of mining regulations.”
Preliminary findings suggest the company, purportedly working with unidentified foreign partners, conducted unauthorised lithium extraction worth N1,431,762,340,450. The staggering sum represents what officials estimate as lost revenue to the Nigerian government during.
The operation also encroached on cadastre units lawfully owned by another titleholder, breaching “section 46(2) of the 2007 Minerals and Mining Act and section 48 of the Nigerian Mining Regulations, 2011.”
The shutdown followed a coordinated inspection by security personnel, state mine officers, and company representatives.
Despite a formal summons, Three Crown Mines’ directors failed to appear before investigators in Abuja on “July 21,” citing “inconvenience” in a letter from their counsel, “Y.C. Maikyau, SAN.”
The Mining Marshals dismissed the excuse as “unacceptable” and warned against attempts to “stall the investigation,” demanding a mutually agreed date for the directors’ appearance.
John Onoja, Assistant Commandant of Corps and Commander of the Mining Marshals, vowed “zero tolerance” for mineral theft, declaring: “We will not negotiate the mineral fortune of Nigeria across any roundtable. Mineral theft is not a compoundable offence.” His remarks came weeks after the Ministry of Solid Minerals fined Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company N2 billion” in a similar case.
The crackdown aligns with the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of President Bola Tinubu and the directives of Minister of Solid Minerals Dele Alake. Lithium, a key component in global energy transition technologies, is central to Nigeria’s economic strategy, and its “unchecked exploitation,” officials warned, threatens both revenue and national sovereignty.
NSCDC Commandant-General Abubakar Ahmed Audi underscored that “the enforcement of laws that protect federal revenue is foundational to Nigeria’s prosperity,” adding: “The sanitisation of the mining sector is not just necessary—it is non-negotiable.”
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