Firm Seeks Intervention of Tinubu, IGP, NSA Over Disputed Nasarawa Mining Site

Senate Receives petition, probes assault on NSCDC operatives

By James Adamu, Abuja

As the dispute over the legal ownership of the Rafingaba mining site in Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State deepens, Capital Apex Synergy Global Services has sought the intervention of President Bola Tinubu and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to resolve it amid the annual revenue loses in billions of dollars to illegal mining reported by the country.

The organisation is also calling on the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu; Commandant-General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Audi; and the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, to wade into the dispute, which it said could erode the confidence of foreign investors in the Federal Government’s economic diversification policy.

The firm made the call as the NSCDC’s Mining Marshals, petitioned the Senate Committee on Ethics/Privileges and Public Petitions alleging assault, intimidation and obstruction by men of the Nasarawa State Command of the Nigeria Police Force on the same Rafingaba site.

The petition to the Senate Committee, signed by the Commander of the NSCDC Mining Marshals, Onoja Attah, stated that four personnel -Yarima Yunusa; Hasuruna Lamshi; Oliver Kutaya, and Raymond Ibrahim -deployed to guard the sealed site, were assaulted on April 3, 2025 by the police, forcibly ejecting them out of the area.

“The actions of the police not only endangered our officers but also undermined our lawful efforts to prosecute illegal mining activities.

“We are seeking the intervention of the Senate to ensure justice is served and that inter-agency sabotage does not derail the fight against mineral theft”, the petition, assigned for investigation, reads partly.

A National Assembly committee investigations indicate that Nigeria loses over $9billion annually to illegal mining, resulting largely from unlicensed access to mining sites.

The Chairman, Committee on Solid Minerals, Jonathan Gaza, commenting on the losses, stated, “The parliament is deeply worried about the loss of revenue through unregulated and illicit mining operations with the Federal Government disclosing that unlawful mining costs the country $9bn each year, with the only money coming from a 3 per cent royalty paid by the few licensed miners.”

The Rafingaba site’s lingering dispute came to the fore again over the weekend when Capital Apex Synergy Global Services accused another miner, Day May-A Global Ventures, of encroaching on the site, which it said was acquired with documented proof.

Speaking at a news conference in Abuja just days after Day May-A Global also laid claim to the site, the spokesman, Mr Aliyu Zubairu, tendered copies of permits, certificates, and a court injunction, all giving Capital Apex Synergy Global Services rightful access to the disputed Small Scale Mining Licences (SML) Nos. 036868 and 037075 issued by the Federal Government.

According to Zubairu, the licences were originally owned by Bajas Nigeria Limited but later acquired by Capital Apex after the completion of due process formalities.

He noted, “In spite of clear documentation and multiple letters from the Ministry directing DM-A Global to cease operations, they have continued to mine our land illegally.

“We have spent billions and yet, due to this encroachment, not a single ounce of mineral has been extracted.”

It was learnt that the current dispute is an example of the regulatory challenges and confusion in the solid minerals sector, further making government’s efforts at revenue diversification not to yield the expected positive results.

The disputed licences have deposits of cassiterite, columbite, copper, gold, lead, and zinc.

The spokesman added, “There’s nothing clandestine about our operations. Every step has been taken in accordance with the law, including the certification of firm by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).”

“DM-A Global, on the other hand, is operating without legitimate title, and their continued presence is a direct violation of a standing court order.”

However, findings confirmed by Capital Apex showed that DM-A Global had made the same claim of ownership over the site with the police and the NSCDC taking sides -the former backing DM-A while the latter is siding with Capital Apex.

When asked why the security agencies are divided on the matter when they are supposed to be united in safeguarding the common interest of government, Zubairu responded, “The mining marshals, who are part of the NSCDC, acted after inspecting our documents.

“We gave them nothing. They are simply doing their job.”

He further alleged that the lives of workers were no longer safe as a result of constant intimidation, adding,

“There has been no mining, only staff accommodation built. Our investors are scared. We are losing valuable licence years, and livelihoods are on the line.”

Capital Apex reiterated its call on President Tinubu to intervene by protecting investors’s interest in the solid minerals sector.

DM-A officials did not make any reaction to the claim of Capital Apex as of Sunday, though they had earlier publicly accused Capital Apex of being the aggressors.