Lideal mines alleges Illegal takeover of Mining site by Nasarawa Govt.

….Appeals Lower Court Ruling

From Abel Zwanke , Lafia

The Court of Appeal sitting in the Makurdi Judicial Division has received an appeal in the ongoing mining dispute involving Lideal Mines Limited.

 The Nasarawa State Government, and Ganfeng Lithium Industry Limited over control of a contested mining site in Endo Community, Nasarawa State.

The appeal arises from a ruling of the Federal High Court, Lafia Division delivered on May 11, 2026, which granted interlocutory orders restraining all parties from accessing or conducting mining activities within disputed cadastral units in the area.

However, Lideal Mines Limited in a document made available to journalists on Monday through their lead MARTIN OJONIMI ATOJOKO, ESQ is asking the appellate court to set aside the ruling.

He described it as a “judicial overreach” and alleging that it effectively validated executive actions that are still subject to determination in the substantive suit.

In its Notice of Appeal, the company argued that the trial court erred by making determinations that, in its view, pre-empt the main issues in dispute.

“The learned trial judge erred in law when, having been invited in the substantive originating summons to determine whether the Government of Nasarawa State possessed any constitutional or statutory competence to suspend or interfere with federally-licensed mining operations, 

His Lordship proceeded at the interlocutory stage to give judicial effect to the very executive acts whose validity constitutes the substantive question before the court,” the company stated.

Lideal Mines further contended that the lower court’s decision amounted to a premature conclusion of the central dispute.

“The practical and legal effect of the Orders made by the Court below was to place judicial imprimatur upon disputed executive acts before resolving whether the Respondents possessed any constitutional competence whatsoever to undertake those acts in the first place,” it added.

The appeal is part of a broader litigation already before the Federal High Court, Abuja, where the mining firm is challenging what it described as the unlawful suspension of its operations and alleged takeover of its mining site.

In the substantive suit, Lideal Mines is demanding ₦5 billion in damages against the Nasarawa State Government, the state Attorney-General, and Ganfeng Lithium Industry Limited.

The company is also seeking declarations that suspension and evacuation notices issued on February 4, 2026, and March 10, 2026, were unconstitutional and void.

According to court filings, the firm alleged that armed security personnel were deployed to enforce its removal from Cadastral Unit 3, Endo Village.

“The 1st Defendant thereafter deployed over one hundred and sixty armed security personnel comprising officers of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies, who forcefully prevented the Plaintiff from accessing or conducting any activity at the site,” the affidavit stated.

Lideal Mines further alleged that the site was subsequently reassigned to Ganfeng Lithium Industry Limited, an action it described as unlawful and unconstitutional.

“The purported assignment of the Plaintiff’s mining site at Cadastral Unit 3, Endo Village, Nasarawa State, to the 3rd Defendant is unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void,” it argued.

The company maintains that under Item 39 of the Exclusive Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution and the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007, regulatory authority over mineral resources rests solely with the Federal Government.

It is therefore urging the Court of Appeal to overturn the interlocutory ruling and halt further enforcement of the decision of the lower court, insisting that its appeal raises substantial questions of constitutional competence and jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, Lideal Mines has also filed a motion before the Federal High Court seeking a stay of execution of the May 11 ruling pending the determination of its appeal, arguing that continued enforcement would prejudice the outcome of the substantive matter.

The dispute continues to raise tensions over regulatory authority, mining rights, and state involvement in federally licensed mineral operations in Nasarawa State.