DIPLOMAN TIMES

The Berom Youth Molders-Association has called for the immediate revocation of Mining Lease No. ML-129 over a mining site in Latya, Du District of Jos South Local Government Area, Plateau State, while giving the Federal and Plateau State governments one week to respond to its demands.

The association made the demand on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, during a press conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Secretariat in Jos. Its president, Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, said the association's concerns centred on what it described as alleged irregularities surrounding the issuance and operation of ML-129, while acknowledging that mineral resources are vested in the Federal Government.

According to the association, unresolved issues also surround an earlier Mining Lease No. ML-126, which it said was associated with Mining Technologies Company Limited and covered the disputed area. The BYM alleged that an agreement connected with the earlier mining operation was for four years and expired in 2001, while legal proceedings concerning ML-126 remained pending before the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Jos.

The association further alleged that Mr. Joshua Egbagbe subsequently obtained ML-129 while the earlier dispute was pending and claimed that the newer lease substantially covered the same disputed area. It called for the Minister of Mines, Steel and Solid Minerals Development and the Mining Cadastre Office to authenticate ML-129 and determine whether the lease is valid, subsisting and lawfully applicable to the Latya site.

The BYM also alleged inadequate host-community involvement in the process leading to the issuance or operation of ML-129, including questions concerning landowners' interests and Community Development Agreement requirements. It raised further concerns about the alleged deployment of Nigeria Police Force and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps personnel to the mining site and called for clarification of who authorised the deployment and under what legal authority.

The association said it had also received reports of community members being arrested, detained or subjected to legal proceedings following complaints attributed to Mr. Egbagbe and called for independent investigation of those cases. It demanded the withdrawal of security personnel from the site within 24 hours unless supported by a valid court order or lawful directive, and said failure to receive a satisfactory government response within one week would lead it to pursue what it described as its constitutional right to peaceful assembly and lawful protest. The association simultaneously urged residents and youths in the affected communities to remain calm and law-abiding.