Fresh facts emerged on Saturday 26th April 2025, as Mr. Abdullahi Usman, signatory to the Consent Letter which El-Tahdam Exploration Limited presented to the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) as part of requirements for license, said he was instructed by an unauthorized official to sign and backdate the document.
Usman, who made the revelation during an interview with our correspondent in Abuja, called on businesses and the general public to ensure that due process is followed while obtaining documents they need to advance their business plans.
He called out the former Chairman of Yauri Emirate Mining Committee, Mr. Abdullahi Mai Akwai for the anomaly, stating that Akwai summoned and misled him to sign the Consent Letter.
While commending the Yauri Emirate Council for prompt investigation and disciplinary action taken to ensure regard for documents signed by the community, traditional rulers or landowners, he stressed the importance of obtaining documents through authorized channels, stating that it will help to prevent disputes, thereby ensuring peace and harmony between trading partners on one hand, and host communities, land owners and the traditional institution on the other hand.
Usman, who was suspended while investigations progressed, thanked the emirate authorities for diligently investigating the issue and restoring his office upon discovering that he was misled to sign the controversial document.
Usman, who is a native of Libata, responded to questions in Hausa language. He stated: “I am a devout Muslim, and this means that I do my best to live according to the injunctions of Almighty Allah as contained in the Holy Quran. Although I am secretary to the Village Head of Libata Community, I carry out instructions of the Village Head which he sometimes delegates through some members of his council or through whoever he deems fit.”
Usman explained that he has no authority to sign Consent Letters on behalf of the emirate or host communities, adding that “only land owners have the power and authority to sign, while traditional rulers sign as witnesses.”
When asked why he signed the Consent Letter that suggested that Libata Community granted consent to El-Tahdam Exploration Limited, he stated: “In Libata, we have a leader, he is the Village Head, but there are also some senior officials through whom the Village Head may give instructions. The Chairman of the Mining Committee of Yauri Emirate is among the senior officials through whom the Emir can delegate responsibility or pass a message.”
“The official is the chairman of Yauri Emirate Mining Committee.”
He recalled how he got involved, saying: “So, on that fateful day, I was summoned alongside some other people by the Chairman of the Mining Committee. We went to meet him. He told us that there is an instruction from above to sign a Consent Letter, and also to append a date. As expected, I am a loyal staff of the emirate and I had no reason to doubt him. So, we all signed the document. While signing the document, we were instructed to backdate it, and we did, because we believed that the instruction was handed down from above.”
He said trouble began after some days, and the signatories were summoned to Birnin Kebbi for questioning. “When we got to Birnin Kebbi, a government official alongside Members of the Kebbi State House of Assembly questioned us as part of their investigations, and challenged our authority to sign Consent Letter.”
“The official made it clear to us that the land in respect of which we signed the Consent Letter had been granted to a mining company known as Three Crown Mines Limited.”
“He told us that we acted on behalf of the community, and that we have no authority to do so because we are not the owners of the land, and that nobody instructed or authorized the Mining Committee Chairman to ask us to sign the Consent Letter.
“In all sincerity, I am not a landowner, therefore I cannot give land. I can only give what I have. The land in question is not a community land, it belongs to individuals.
“We explained to him that we were only being loyal to constituted authority, and that we believed that we were protecting the interest of the emirate. To cut the story short, we were all suspended, including the Chairman of the Mining Committee of Yauri Emirate, and then investigations commenced.”
He said his name and mobile contact was on the document he signed.
Asked if he had prior knowledge that your name will be on the letter, he responded: “Not at all! I was surprised to find that my name was on it. More so, I had thought that the Consent Letter referred to a different land.”
He said the investigation established that everything was planned and executed by the Chairman of Yauri Emirate Mining Committee without the knowledge of the emirate.
While saying that all those involved were initially suspended, he added that those who were found innocent were restored to their jobs after the investigations.
Usman, who admitted that he is aware that the Consent Letter he signed was presented to a government office as part of requirements for a mineral license, stated: “However, it is clear that I was misled to fill and sign the consent form (as land owner) in favor of El-Thadam Exploration Limited, which the company used to apply for license as a result of which Exploration License N0. 45689 was granted to the company.
According to him, the same consent agreement was also used to obtain a Mining Lease from the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO).
“I became aware of this when another mining company, Three Crown Mines showed that they had been granted consent over the same land. And the Land Owners had earlier given its consent to Three Crown Mines Limited over the land, and endorsed by the community.”
Discussing what he did to correct the wrongs, he stated: “I am now aware that there was no order from above authorizing the Chairman of the Mining Committee to instruct me to sign the Consent Letter.”
“I took some steps to inform relevant stakeholders including the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) that the Consent Letter in possession of El-Thadam should be disregarded because it was signed by an unauthorized person. I wrote a letter dated 13th August 2024 to the MCO detailing the true position of things.”
“So, in order to set the record straight, I have sworn an affidavit stating how I was misled by a superior official and I want the public to be aware of this.”
“I made it clear in the affidavit that it is necessary to set the record straight regarding the Consent Letter which I was misled to sign.”
“This information is verifiable even from the suspended Chairman of the Mining Committee. I am sure that he will admit that I acted on his instruction without knowing that he was not authorized to instruct me.”
Usman who said he is not happy that there is disagreement between Three Crown Mining and El-Thadam Exploration Limited, called on all stakeholders in the companies to cooperate and resolve the issue amicably.
“I believe that truth will lead to justice. This is why I have recounted all I know about the issue. I have also been part of the efforts of the Yauri Emirate Council to resolve the case amicably even though the case was in court. In respect of theses efforts, I am in Abuja alongside some other stakeholders to provide genuine information on the issues that led to the issuance of the Consent Letter toward amicable resolution of the issue.
“The Committee Chairman will agree that those facts were grossly misrepresented. I stated in the affidavit I swore that I was given the impression that the land in respect of which my consent was sought and obtained, was different.”
He said in order to correct the erroneous impression that an authorized personnel signed the Consent Letter currently in possession of El-Tahdam Exploration, he swore to an affidavit of facts at the Federal High Court in Kebbi.
“Together with the some stakeholders from Yauri emirate, we have delivered the document to the stakeholders.”
He said the stakeholders include the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (MoSMD); the Director General, Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (MCO); the Inspector General of Police (IGP); the Director General, Department of State Security Service (DSS); the Commandant of the Mining Marshalls at the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC); and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).”
He said in addition to efforts made at the federal level, he also made efforts at the state level alongside stakeholders including the Yauri Emirate Council. “I delivered the same document to the office of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kebbi State; the Speaker, Kebbi State house of Assembly; the Hon Commissioner of Police, Kebbi State; Federal Mines Officer, Kebbi State; Mines Environmental Compliance (MEC) Office in Kebbi State; DSS, Kebbi State; Civil Defence, Kebbi State; and the Kebbi State Ministry of Mines.”
“So, those are some of the efforts I have made together with stakeholders to correct the anomaly, to build peace and harmony and ensure economic development of Yauri emirate,” he added.
Repeated efforts made by THE TRUTH to reach El-Tahdam Exploration proved abortive as an official of the company who introduced herself as Adaobi Okonkwo, Secretary to Mr. Adamu Tah, CEO, El-Tahdam Exploration, on Friday April 25th, said the CEO was not available to respond to the allegations.
Even-though the allegations were made explicit to her, she nevertheless turned down a further appeal made by our correspondent to provide the mobile contact of the CEO.
In the same vein, efforts made to reach the El-Tahdam CEO through some of his known associates is yet to be responded to, as the time of this report.
