Design of the proposed multi-million dollar Gold Refinery in Abuja
Unless the Federal Government wades in, the planned establishment of a multi-million-dollar gold refinery in Nigeria may become a pipe dream as the foreign co-investors are considering moving the project, instead, to other African countries.
If that happens, Nigeria will be robbed of another good opportunity for job creation and the value such a refinery would have added to the growth of the nation’s economy in terms of the volume of inflow of foreign exchange that is badly needed to stabilize the Naira.
The fear that this may indeed happen stem from the recent declaration of the facilitator of the gold refinery project, Alhaji Rabiu Auwalu Tijjani, as a wanted man, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over allegations of money laundering and other charges.
Alhaji Auwalu Tijjani, a Nigerian international gold merchant based in the United Arab Emirate (UAE), is said to have become entrenched in gold business and stands out as one of the most highly recognized Gold Merchants globally.
His company, Special Stone Jewellery Ltd, was granted the license by the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development to establish the first ever gold refinery envisaged to located in the Kyami District, off Airport Road in Abuja.
Tijjani’s company was issued a Minerals Processing and Refining Permit (PPRM) No. 011 under the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 Regulation 135(1) dated February 28, 2025 and signed by Engr Imam A. Ganiyu, Director, Mines Inspectorate, after the payment of N1,000,000,000 fee.
In a suit filed against the EFCC and one Mr. Ifeanyi Ezeokoli at the Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna, Tijjani complained that the “hasty and unjust” action of the anti-graft agency in declaring him wanted has led to his co-investors already having a re-think.
In an affidavit deposition in support of his Fundamental Human Right Enforcement Suit against the EFCC, Alhaji Tijjani complained that the EFCC “hastily and wrongfully” declared him wanted over allegations of money laundering without any formal invitation and despite sending a representative with documents to prove his innocence.
He also complained that the action by the EFCC caused unimaginable damages to his person, businesses and in particular, constituting a major disservice to his on-going process of setting up the gold refinery.
Alhaji Tijjani, who described himself as victim of an accuser-turned-accused person, said in his affidavit depositions that he was first in time to file a petition against his accuser with the Department of State Service (DSS) since last year.
The court documents pertaining to suit No. FHC/KD/CS/88/2025 between Alhaji Rabiu Auwalu Tijjani (as applicant) and EFCC and Mr. Ifeanyi Ezeokoli (as 1st and 2nd respondent), were obtained by NATIONAL ACCORD in Abuja last week.
The affidavit was filed by his counsel, Edwin Anikwem Esq, SAN, leading Shareef Ahmed Mohammed Esq, Muhammad Zakariyya Dikko Esg and four other lawyers in support of Fundamental Human Right Enforcement of Alhaji Tijjani.
Alhaji Tijjani, who presented a background to the transaction leading to his declaration by the EFCC as being wanted, exhibited his prior petition to the DSS vide his Solicitors and a reminder letter from his company to the DSS to his Court process in support of his claim, alleging that in a financial transaction carried out in Dubai, he overpaid his present accuser to the tune of US$2m.
Alhaji Tijjani averred that when he drew the attention of his accuser and requested joint reconciliation to verify the US$2m overpayment, his accuser became hostile, adding that it was at that point that he (Tijjani) reported the matter to the DSS who advised both parties to engage the services of independent auditors to audit the transaction.
According to him, it was while the independent auditors were still in the throes of getting to the root of the matter that his business partner rushed to the EFCC to lodge the “extant malicious complaint” against him during the pendency of the DSS investigation.
Specifically, Alhaji Auwalu said in his affidavit depositions vide paragraph 3(e) that sometime on 13th January 2022 in Dubai where he resides and carries out his lawful businesses, he was approached by the 2nd Respondent, one Mr. Ifeanyi Ezeokoli with a business transaction of 76m dollars.
He said upon successful completion of the transactions and upon reconciliation of the Naira equivalent payment made to him by the said Mr. Ifeanyi, he discovered that Mr. Ifeanyi over paid him with N26m and he called the attention of Mr. Ifeanyi and returned the excess payment back to Mr. Ifeanyi who commended him for his forthrightness.
However, Alh. Auwalu lamented that when eventually he conducted the same audit of the dollar payment he made to Mr. Ifeanyi and discovered that he doubled-paid Mr. Ifeanyi with over 2m dollars and drew Mr. Ifeanyi’s attention and requested him to come for reconciliation exercise, Mr. Ifeanyi refused and became hostile and very funny.
Alhaji Auwalu further stated that upon sensing Mr. Ifeanyi’s strange conduct, he petitioned Mr. Ifeanyi to the DSS last year during one of his visits to Nigeria resulting in both parties submitting themselves to the jurisdiction of the DSS along with their relevant documents.
He stated further that upon the DSS seeing the volume of documents submitted by the said Mr. Ifeanyi, suggested the parties to engage the services of an independent auditor to audit their transactions in issue which they both agreed, and upon realizing that the auditors have but lamented that upon the discovering the two companies which Ifeanyi represented in the transactions and to which accounts the double payment was made into, Mr. Ifeanyi refused to supply their exact office and ended up giving fictitious addresses of their offices.
Alhaji Auwalu Tijjani said it was at this point that Mr. Ifeanyi left the DSS and went to file a petition against him with the EFCC during the pendency of Alh. Auwalu’s petition with DSS.
According to Alhaji Tijjani, the EFCC Kaduna only called him once to enquire if he was in town but that he informed them that he does not reside in Nigeria and requested if he can send a representative which they consented. That he later sent a representative with documents in proof of his innocence but that the EFCC declined to receive the documents and ended up only collecting the representative’s phone number with a pledge to call him whenever the need arose, which they never did before declaring him wanted.
Alhaji Auwalu claims that since the EFCC’s first call to him, the agency never called him again only to see his publication at the official website of the EFCC, as being declared wanted.
Among other reliefs being sought by Alhaji Tijjani is a declaration by the court that the sudden or hasty publication/declaration of his name as being wanted by the EFCC in its official website dated 11th July 2025 “without exhausting all available administrative avenues or channels, having known that the Applicant is not ordinarily resident in Nigeria” is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void and a gross violation of his fundamental human rights to liberty, dignity of human person and fair hearing.
He is also seeking an order of the court awarding him the sum of N1billion as exemplary damages for the “flagrant violation” of his fundamental rights to wit; illegal and unconstitutional publication declaring him wanted without any reasonable or probable cause whatsoever.
NATIONAL ACCORD could not obtain any explanation from the EFCC at the time of this report as the spokesman of the anti-graft agency, Mr. Dele Oyewale was still to respond to a WhatsApp message sent to him last week on the matter.
