Firm Petitions FG over Alleged Invasion, Theft  of Lithium

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

A mining company, K.M. Done Mining Limited, has petitioned the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development over what it described as forceful invasion of its licensed mining site in Saki, Oyo State, and theft of 12 truckloads of lithium ore by West Africa New Energy Material Company Limited.

In the petitions addressed to the Zonal Mines Officer, Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, South-West Zonal Office, Ibadan, the company accused the company of deploying security operatives to carry out acts of forceful entry, assault, unlawful arrest, and ejection of its workers from the site.

The petitions, dated January 12 and 15, 2026, written by the firm’s counsel, Y.A. Azeez (Esq.), it   alleged that officials of West Africa New Energy Material Company, “in connivance with men of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army and mining marshals,” invaded the site and carted away large quantities of lithium ore.

According to the petitions, the first operation was allegedly carried out with seven trucks, each conveying about 35 tonnes of lithium ore belonging to K.M. Done Mining Limited.

The company said the seven trucks were later intercepted in Ilorin, Kwara State, by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), leading to the arrest and detention of the trucks and their drivers.

However, it alleged that “having met brick walls in Kwara State,” the same company returned to the mining site with five additional trucks, each with a capacity of about 50 tonnes, to cart away more lithium ore.

Four of the trucks were said to have been diverted to Ogun State, where the lithium ore is allegedly being kept at the yard of M & W Transportation Company Limited, Saapade, Ode-Remo, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while the remaining truck reportedly developed a mechanical fault near the Oke-Ogun Polytechnic area of Saki.

In the January 15 petition, which made reference to the earlier one, the company described the development as “disheartening,” noting that the alleged second invasion occurred on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, while investigations into the earlier incident were still ongoing.

“It is disheartening to report that while the seizure and the culprits are still being investigated, the same company forcefully re-entered our client’s mining site with compromised security operatives,” the petition stated.

The firm further alleged that it had since been barred from accessing its licensed mining site by West Africa New Energy Material Company, allegedly using policemen, soldiers, mining marshals of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and hoodlums.

The petition also claimed that three workers of K.M. Done Mining Limited were still being detained at the Mining Marshal headquarters of the NSCDC in Abuja “for no offence,” without being charged to court or granted administrative bail.

While denying allegations of illegal mining, the company insisted that it was operating strictly within its duly allocated mining site.

“Our client is not an illegal miner. They are on the exact site allotted to them and did not encroach on anyone’s concession,” the petition read.

It added that the company had “consistently and regularly paid royalties to the coffers of the Federal Government,” describing the alleged actions of the rival firm and its collaborators as “criminality taken too far in broad daylight.”

The company urged the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to urgently intervene by notifying relevant law enforcement agencies “to ensure that the perpetrators do not go away with their criminalities.”

“As a law-abiding company, we have consistently advised our client not to resort to self-help that may lead to a breakdown of law and order,” the petition stated, while also alleging that the rival firm was parading fake documents and bribing its way through security agencies.