Mining Firm Petitions Solid Minerals Ministry Over Alleged Seizure of 12 Truckloads of Lithium Ore
A privately owned mining company, K.M. Done Mining Ltd, has formally petitioned the South-West Zonal Mines Office of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development in Ibadan, accusing another firm of using force and security operatives to unlawfully confiscate large quantities of its lithium ore in Saki, Oyo State.
The petition, submitted by the company’s legal counsel, Y.A. Azeez, alleges that West Africa New Energy Material Company Limited, acting in collaboration with certain security personnel and officials of the Mine Marshal unit, invaded its mining site and removed 12 truckloads of processed lithium between January 9 and January 14, 2026.
According to the document, representatives of the Energy Material Company allegedly entered the premises without authorization and initially loaded seven trucks with lithium ore. Five additional trucks, painted in yellow and green, were later brought to the site and similarly filled and driven away.
The development follows a public disclosure last Tuesday by the South-West Zonal Mines Officer, Ganiyu Ajibade, who confirmed that the ministry, working with the Department of State Services in Kwara State, intercepted seven trucks suspected of transporting lithium ore without proper clearance.
Ajibade explained that the operation was carried out based on intelligence received on January 9, 2026. He said the convoy left Saki around 11:30 p.m. on that date, arrived in Igbeti early the following morning, and later proceeded toward Ilorin at about 7:00 p.m. Security operatives eventually apprehended the vehicles along the Okoolowo–Eyenkorin Expressway, although one of the drivers reportedly escaped.
He further stated that the remaining drivers admitted they had been contracted by an unnamed individual to transport the mineral resources and that Mine Marshal personnel from Abuja accompanied the trucks. Relevant documents found with the convoy were also seized as part of the investigation.
However, K.M. Done Mining Ltd has rejected the official account, insisting that the intercepted consignment rightfully belonged to it and was taken without due process. In its petition, the firm described the incident as “forceful entry, assault, unlawful arrest, ejection, and theft of 12 truckloads of lithium ore.”
The company claimed that after the initial seven trucks were stopped in Kwara State, the West Africa New Energy Materials Company allegedly arranged for five more trucks to evacuate additional ore through Ogun State.
Four of those vehicles are said to be currently parked at the premises of a transport company in Saapade, Ode Remo, along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, while the fifth reportedly broke down near Oke-Ogun Polytechnic in Saki.
The petitioner further alleged that agents of the same company returned to the mining site on January 14, 2026, in what it described as a repeat incursion.
In response to the unfolding dispute, K.M. Done Mining Ltd has appealed to the zonal mines office and the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to intervene urgently. The firm urged authorities to notify relevant law enforcement agencies and facilitate an impartial investigation aimed at resolving the matter amicably and in accordance with the law.
Officials of the West Africa New Energy Material Company Limited have yet to issue a public statement on the allegations, leaving the ministry to determine the next steps in what is shaping up to be a contentious battle over mineral rights and regulatory compliance in the region.
