Plateau: BYM Demands Revocation of Mining Lease.

The Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM) has demanded the immediate revocation of the Mining Lease No. ML-129 allegedly issued to Mr. Joshua Egbagbe for mining activities at Latya in Du District of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The group also called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the issuance of the lease, the relationship between ML-129 and an earlier Mining Lease No. ML-126, as well as the alleged deployment of police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel to the mining site.

The demands were made during a press conference delivered by the President of the BYM, Barrister Solomon Mwantiri, at the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Plateau State Council, Jos, on Wednesday.

The BYM said while it recognises that mineral resources are vested in the Federal Government, such ownership does not extinguish the lawful rights and interests of landowners and host communities.

According to the association, mining operators are required to comply with relevant legal provisions on access to land, community relations, environmental obligations, compensation and host-community development.

The group alleged that Mr. Egbagbe had continued to rely on ML-129 despite concerns surrounding an earlier lease, ML-126, reportedly associated with Mining Technologies Company Limited, which explored minerals in the area in 1997 under a four-year agreement that expired in 2001.

The BYM further alleged that a petition was submitted to the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in 2016 against the renewal of the earlier lease while legal proceedings concerning the land were pending, adding that a subsequent response reportedly directed that action be stayed pending determination of the matter.

It alleged that despite the pending issues, Mr. Egbagbe subsequently obtained ML-129, which the group claimed covered the same disputed land, without the involvement or consent of the host community and landowners.

The association also alleged that the host community had not been adequately involved in the mining activities and claimed that no Community Development Agreement had been executed to address the interests and development needs of the community.

The BYM called on the Minister of Solid Minerals Development and the Mining Cadastre Office to authenticate ML-129 and investigate the process through which it was granted, including whether statutory requirements concerning landowners and the host community were fulfilled.

The group also demanded that the Plateau State Commissioner of Police, NSCDC Commandant and the State government investigate who requested and authorised the deployment of security personnel to the Latya mining site, the purpose of the deployment and whether any court order or directive from the relevant mining authorities authorised the shutdown.

The BYM further demanded an investigation into alleged arrests and detention of members of the community, calling for the release of anyone unlawfully detained and an end to what it described as intimidation and harassment of residents over the mining dispute.

The association said it would remain peaceful but warned that if the Federal and Plateau State governments failed to respond to its demands to revoke ML-129 within one week, it would exercise its constitutional right to peaceful assembly and lawfully protest, while urging the people of Latya, Du District and the Berom community to remain calm and peaceful.