Category Nigeria News

The Tax Appeal Tribunal’s decision, which upheld the Federal Inland Revenue Service’s (FIRS) authority to collect, collect, and remit Value Added Tax (VAT) on transportation and food services provided by independent drivers and vendors operating through platforms like Bolt, has been upheld by the Federal High Court Sitting in Lagos.

Additionally, Justice Akintayo Aluko provided N1 million for the costs of the FIRS-Bolt operators’ actions.

The Bolt operators claimed that the action constituted a violation of Section 10 of the VAT Act and that FIRS should not be imposing VAT on services provided by independent drivers and vendors.

However, the lawsuit was dismissed by the Tribunal on May 26, 2023.

The operators appealed the decision to the Federal High Court, asking it to overturn it, using their attorney Elvis Asia. They requested a declaration that Section 10 of the VAT Act was not followed by their appointment by FIRS as independent suppliers’ agents for VAT compliance.

Six issues need to be resolved, according to the appellants. The Tribunal erred, in particular, by affirming their appointment as FIRS agents under Sections 10 (3) and (6) without taking into account the prerequisites in subsections (1) and (2).

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They also argued that non-resident suppliers like Bolt were taxable suppliers of goods and services provided by Nigerian vendors, as per FIRS’s Simplification Guidelines, which went beyond Section 10.

Additionally, the appellants argued that Bolt is exempt from the VAT Act because it does not sell food or goods for transportation. Further, they claimed that the Tribunal erred by holding that they lacked the right to contest their appointment and relied on CITA Sections 31 and 49, which were not raised in their pleadings or oral arguments.

They came to the conclusion that the nature of the transactions involved did not justify confirming the appointment and guidelines, even if they were legally binding.

Moses Idaho, the appellants’ attorney, responded by asking the court to dismiss the appeal with substantial costs and claiming that the appellants’ claims were speculative and a distortion of the Tribunal’s decision.

Justice Aluko ruled in favor of FIRS on issues 1, 4, and 6, and on issues 3 in favor of the appellants, and ruled out issues 2 and 5 in his opinion.

The court ruled that the Respondent acted within the law by appointing the Appellant in accordance with Section 10 (3) of the VAT Act based on the evidence that the Tax Appeal Tribunal relied upon in its evaluation of the records of appeal. There is no compelling argument to challenge the Tribunal’s decision. In consequence, the Tribunal’s decision from May 26th, 2023 is confirmed.

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has arrested one Phil-Olumba Ifunaya Sheila for allegedly failing to report the amounts of $14, 567, £1030, and $40, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s (EFCC) Zonal Directorate 2 in Lagos, located just outside of Lagos.

Dele Oyewale, the agency’s head of media and publicity, made this known in a statement.

Sheila was detained by NCS personnel on a routine check on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, at Ikeja, Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

The suspect claimed she had only $4, 000 on her when she was arrested and was scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom. &nbsp,

In a related development, the Commission announced that it had begun an investigation into a parcel that contained 101 trillion Zimbabwean Dollars, or 426, 091, 066, 068, and 41, 640, 000 Vietnamese Dong, or 95%, 746.52, which were intercepted by NCS agents and NPS officers.

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The Area Comptroller in charge of the NCS at the airport, E. J. Harrison, stated, “Today, we have two interceptions that we want to hand over to the EFCC. And they are entering the command from two distinct locations. &nbsp,

The first one is from the NIPOST (Nigerian Postal Service), which is a subject we may not be familiar with but which we are responsible for. A package containing foreign currencies was intercepted by us. &nbsp,

It was actually the vigilant and hard work of our officers and the NIPOST’s officials, who were looking at the package, that made it clear that someone was trying to import a lot of money into Nigeria.

However, we must make sure that this doesn’t occur. Therefore, we currently have a parcel that will be subject to government agency scrutiny. “&nbsp,

A. A. Timta, a representative from the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC, assured the service that the EFCC would proceed with the investigation and prosecution of the suspect while they were receiving the suspect and the money in the intercepted parcel.

The Yelewata killing victims in Benue State, among whom, have received humanitarian assistance from the European Union, who have allocated €1.5 million.

More than 1.5 million people have been forced to leave their homes since 2018, according to the EU.

Additionally, the EU stated in a statement that over 400, 000 people had been displaced and over 6, 900 lives had lost between 2024 and 2025.

This EU funding will support efforts to implement activities in areas like protection, shelter, water, sanitation, and hygiene for a period of six months, in addition to multi-purpose financial aid, in collaboration with the IOM.

“An already troubling humanitarian crisis has been worsened by the escalating armed violence in Benue State, Nigeria, which has caused thousands of people to flee.” A wave of attacks in June 2025, which had previously caused a cycle of heightened vulnerability, forced almost 23, 000 people to flee. Many of them had already been.

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The aid package will include multi-purpose cash assistance for the affected populations as well as protection, shelter, water, sanitation, and hygiene.

“The conditions inside the camps are terrible. Families face a severe lack of shelter and unreliable access to clean, sanitary, and sanitation facilities (WASH). The humanitarian response is still a challenge because protection risks have increased significantly, particularly for women, children, and people with disabilities, making the access to livelihoods still difficult.

“The state of Benue has been shaken by a protracted humanitarian crisis that has been causing this most recent wave of violence,” reads the statement. Since 2018, more than 1.5 million people have been displaced from their homes.

The statement stated that the urgency of the situation was highlighted by the fact that “the violence’s escalation in 2024 and 2025 has already claimed some 6,900 lives and caused more than 400,000 to flee.

Some #EndSARS protesters have been liable for 10 million in damages from the Lagos State Commissioner of Police and the Inspector-General of Police for violating their fundamental rights.

Justice Musa Kakaki ruled in his decision that the plaintiffs and protesters were subject to unfair harassment and violating their constitutional rights while attending the fourth memorial rally on October 20, 2024.

Read more about the ‘Police Beat, Brutalized Us, and EndSARS Memorial Protesters’ Ordeals here.

Justice Kakaki argued that while law enforcement agencies have constitutional authority to keep the law, it must be done within the framework of democracy and the rule of law.

Among the defendants in court are Olamilekan Sanusi, Uadiale Kingsley, Ilesanmi Kehinde, Osopale Adeseye, Olamilekan Sanusi, and Miss Osugba Blessing, among others.

Organizations like the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Take It Back Movement (TIBM), and Campaign for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR) joined them.