The Federal Government yesterday raised the alarm over an alleged plot by an embattled mining firm, Jupiter Ltd, to orchestrate what it described as a campaign of calumny against Nigeria during the ongoing state visit of President Bola Tinubu to the United Kingdom.

The plot, according to the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MSMD), is alleged to be a smear campaign plot by the company to discredit the Federal Government following regulatory actions taken against a Nigerian firm linked to one of its directors.

In a statement made available to journalists yesterday in Abuja by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, the ministry said earlier claims sponsored by Jupiter Ltd in a publication titled “Nigeria Seizes British Lithium Project Under Armed Guard” were false and misleading.

The statement, according to the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media, Kehinde Bamigbetan, had earlier been responded to the claims in a rebuttal titled “In Nigeria’s Mining Sector, The Law Is No Respecter of Persons.” Tomori said the Federal Government had no legal or contractual relationship with any company known as Jupiter Lithium.

He said: “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 expressly prohibits the granting of mining licences to foreign companies.” The ministry explained that the dispute arose from the revocation of mineral titles belonging to Basin Mining Ltd, a Nigerian company allegedly fronted by Australian national, Steve Davis.

According to the statement, the titles were revoked after the company failed to pay statutory annual service fees. Tomori said: “The bone of contention is the strict application of regulations governing the mining sector, which necessitated the revocation of mineral titles belonging to Basin Mining Ltd after due notice was served on the company in line with extant laws on default in payment of annual service fees.”