Federal Govt Cracking Down On Mining Licence Hoarders, Fraudsters – MCO

The federal government is intensifying its crackdown on licence hoarders and impostors in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector. It has announced plans to revoke thousands of mining licences as part of a sweeping effort to clean up the industry and boost investor confidence.

Director-General of the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) Obadiah Nkom revealed during a live X (formerly Twitter) session with the title “A deep dive into the Mining Cadastre Office: Driving transparency and order in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector” that the ongoing purge targets expired, speculative, and inactive licences to make way for genuine investors.

“When you talk about backlog, for now, the ministry has had reasons to clear or revoke close to 4,709 mineral licenses. There were implementations regarding revoked expiring titles of up to 1,400 licenses. We have had reasons to refuse applications in the system, 2,338. We have had a mineral title notification of 971. Can you imagine 971 notifications of grants that were notified, but did not come to pay?” Nkom asked.

He stressed that the revocation is not punitive but part of a deliberate sanitisation to weed out speculators who “hoard licences without adding value to the economy.”

“This cleaning exercise that we are doing is to be able to now create that space in the minefield for people… It has sanitised our sector, and investors now know that if they are not going to be involved in exploration and value addition, there will be consequences,” Nkom added.

The DG noted that the ministry’s move to increase licence renewal fees was designed to discourage speculators who hold multiple licences without contributing to the sector. “Many of them have had to relinquish their licenses. Surrender their licenses… This is the sanity that is needed.”

Beyond licence revocations, the MCO is also cracking down on impostors posing as staff or agents to scam innocent investors. “We are going to bite, and bite hard,” Nkom warned. “These impersonators deceive innocent investors by giving the impression that they are staff of the cadastre. They collect money and documents illegally, tarnishing the sector’s image.”

Complaints have been filed with the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to track and prosecute offenders.

The MCO has integrated with the Corporate Affairs Commission’s real-time verification system to shield investors further, ensuring only duly registered companies can obtain mineral titles. “The CAC has given us the API to instantly confirm, in real time, whether a company is legally registered. If not, the application cannot move forward,” Nkom explained.

He also warned operators that mining beyond their licensed minerals is illegal, urging them to apply for additions through official channels. “Mining beyond your licensed mineral automatically renders you an illegal miner… It takes only a week or two. There is no excuse for illegality.”

Despite these stern measures, Nkom said the reforms are attracting more investors. “Government reforms are attracting more companies. Foreign investor interest is rising, while local small-scale operators also organise themselves into cooperatives. Mining is no longer seen as just breaking stones; it is now big business.”

With the backing of the Tinubu administration and Minister Dele Alake, the sector is on course to become transparent, accountable, and investor-friendly. “We have 100 per cent success in litigation because we follow the law. That is why the courts uphold our actions… We are repositioning it for the growth of Nigeria,” Nkom concluded.