By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria’s Mining Cadastral Office (MCO) says it processed 955 applications for mineral title grants but approved a total of 867 licenses during in the first quarter of 2025.

The Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr Dele Alake, made the disclosure in a statement, saying the licenses included 512 exploration licenses, 295 small-scale mining leases, 60 quarry leases, and 5 mining leases.

He revealed this as he announced that the government generated over N6.95 billion in mining fees and registered 118 new private mineral buying centres in the period under review, in what has been described as a major leap toward reforming Nigeria’s mining sector and attracting new investments.

According to him, the achievements reflect the government’s aggressive push to reposition the sector and raise its global competitiveness.

In a related mining development, Nigeria and South Africa last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cooperation in the mining sector, with a focus on investment, knowledge sharing and technology transfer.

The agreement, which falls under the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission framework, was signed in Abuja by South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Mr Gwede Mantashe, and his Nigerian counterpart, Mr Alake.

The MoU lays the foundation for increased investment and collaboration, particularly in areas such as the use of drone technology and spectral remote sensing for geological mapping and mineral exploration.

Additionally, the agreement includes the exchange of geoscientific data between Nigeria’s Geological Survey Agency and South Africa’s Council for Geoscience. It also outlines plans for training programs on mineral processing, local capacity building and the transfer of advanced technologies, including Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for mineral analysis.

Beyond investment and technology, the MoU also includes joint exploration efforts focused on agro-minerals and energy minerals in Nigeria.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The socialite declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ms Aisha Achimugu, has been taken into custody after arriving at the airport in Abuja, the country’s capital city.

Ms Achimugu, who is believed to be an ally of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, was declared wanted by the EFCC for an alleged money laundering.

“The public is hereby notified that Aisha Sulaiman Achimugu is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of criminal conspiracy and money laundering,” a statement from the agency last month said.

However, she has returned to Nigeria to honour the invitation of the anti-money laundering agency and to also clear her name.

According to reports, Ms Achimugu was picked up by operatives of the EFCC in the early hours of Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

It is not certain if she will be arraigned in court anytime soon as the EFCC has yet to issue a public statement on the latest development.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the chief executive of Meta Platforms Incorporated (Facebook), Mr Mark Zuckerberg, to pay the $220 million fine imposed on the firm by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

Last Friday, the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal upheld the $220 million fine slammed on the company for the grave violations of Nigerian consumer, data protection and privacy laws and international human rights standards.

In a statement over the weekend, SERAP advised Mr Zuckerberg and Meta “to provide (in addition to the fine) justice and effective remedies, including adequate compensation and guarantees of non-repetition for the victims of the grave violations of Nigerian consumer, data protection and privacy laws and international human rights standards.”

It also told him and his organisation to “immediately” pay the $35,000 awarded by the tribunal to the FCCPC as cost of investigation, adding that they must “immediately halt the violations found by the tribunal and prevent their re-occurrence, as well as ensure the accountability of any person(s) responsible for the violations.”

In the letter dated April 26, 2025, and signed by its deputy director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, the group said, “As Chairman and CEO, you ought to ensure enhanced transparency, human rights due diligence, accountability and remediation by Meta to ensure that Nigerians’ human rights are not threatened or violated.”

Giving more context, SERAP noted that, “The tribunal’s judgment followed the administrative penalty imposed on Meta on July 19, 2024 by the FCCPC after concluding that the companies engaged in discriminatory and exploitative practices against Nigerians.”

“The tribunal’s judgment followed a 38-month joint investigation initiated by the FCCPC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) into the conduct, privacy practices, and consumer data policies of Meta Platforms and WhatsApp.

“We would be grateful if these measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions at the national, regional or international levels to compel you and Meta to comply with our requests in the public interest,” SERAP said.