Our Reporter, Abuja
Lawyers of Civil Liberties (LACIVLER Development Foundation) has issued a pre-action notice to the National Assembly, raising concerns that the Tax Laws 2025 currently gazetted and slated for enforcement may differ from the version harmonised and passed by both chambers of the legislature.
Legalify Attorneys, Solicitors & Arbitrators in a letter dated December 22, 2024 and signed by Victor Opatola Esq., which was received by the National Assembly on December 23, 2025, said it is acting on behalf of Lawyers for Civil Liberty (LACIVLER Development Foundation), its members, Mr. Emmanuel Orjih, and other concerned Nigerians. The notice was addressed to the Clerk of the National Assembly and invokes Section 21 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, alongside a formal request for information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
The lawyers allege that “serious public and institutional concerns, reports and evidence” suggest that the tax statutes as gazetted are “altered and not identical” to the bill jointly harmonised and approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives. According to the letter, any discrepancy between the passed bill and the version presented for enforcement raises constitutional issues around legality, certainty, and due process, particularly because taxation affects proprietary rights.
As part of their FOI request, the solicitors asked the National Assembly to disclose the final harmonised bill, including certified true copies, as jointly agreed to and passed by both chambers. They also urged the legislature to take corrective steps, including re-passing the bills or re-presenting what they describe as the “authentic harmonised bill” to the President, to ensure that the law enforced against taxpayers reflects the exact text approved by Parliament.
The notice outlines potential legal issues the group says it may place before the courts if the matter is not addressed. These include declarations that a law whose authenticity or legislative integrity is in dispute cannot lawfully ground tax liability, and that no arm of government can validly enforce a statute materially altered after legislative passage without violating constitutional principles such as separation of powers and legislative intent.
The lawyers further contend that citizens cannot be compelled to comply with or pay taxes under a law whose authenticity is in legitimate doubt, arguing that such enforcement could infringe constitutional rights, including the right to property and due process.
As of the time of filing this report, the National Assembly had not publicly responded to the allegations or the request for disclosure.
Ikengaonline reported that LACIVLER had similarly served FOI request on the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) demanding access to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP).
