Business
MUST READ!!! The many Implications for Nigerians Named in Panama Papers
As in the era of WikiLeaks, the world has once again been rattled by revelations about leaked information on secret accounts and other holdings of influential people around the globe.
The Panama papers are documents that were leaked by consortium of investigators across continents, after they hacked the database of shell companies that were lodged in an enforcer’s records.
In this kind of issue, it is usually predictable to find Nigeria on the list. It was, therefore, not surprising when, within days of the leakage, some serving public officers, and other retired ones, as well as oil moguls from Nigeria were named among those on the list.
Facilitator of the hidden interests and companies for Nigerians and other world leaders in British Virgin Island, as shown by the leaked database of Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm, has brought grey hairs to some Nigerian public officers and has elicited denials and staccato statements from others.
So far, those named in the documents are; the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ononefe Ibori, who is serving term in a London prison; embattled Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, currently having his time in court on charges that border on alleged false asset declaration; former military General and predecessor to Saraki from Benue State, Senator David Mark; and retired Army General and oil mogul, T. Y. Danjuma. Also on the list are; the world’s richest Blackman, according to Forbes, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and his business partner, Sayyu Dantata. Their names featured as operators of shell companies.
The question has been if it is an offence to register an offshore company in a tax haven. What are the implications if a public office holder has such interest, and what the Nigerian law has to say about it. Also of interest, is how such a holding can affect a non-public office holder. Tax havens are described as places where the influential can engineer their holdings in a sub-surface manner that takes attention off them and their investments. In the process, since such holdings are usually not directly linked to them, taxes that are supposed to be paid from such earnings are usually not paid and are, instead pocketed by the operators of the company.
Directors are appointed to hold forth within short periods, which the laws of incorporation in such places, mostly remote and small islands, allow till attention shifts and then they bring in those to run the company and operate without the extant laws of their home country and, where they can, navigate the laws of their hosts to take all profits without paying full or any taxes.
Interestingly, lawyers who spoke to THISDAY on the issue were in agreement on the central issues of the leaked papers, though with different angles of explanation.
While Chief Abiodun Owonikoko, SAN, a Lagos-based Lawyer agreed with Mr. Onuoha Kalu, an Abuja-based lawyer on the fundamental that there was no law banning the operation of an offshore company in a tax haven, they however pointed out that it would become an issue if a political or public office holder was involved.
Owonikoko said that, “There is no law banning a public officer from being a shareholder in a foreign company but the officer has to declare his interest fully in it. This is because he pays tax from his salary under the Pay As You Earn PAYE while the shareholding in foreign company also brings in dividends in hard currency which has to be paid into a foreign account that the officer is forbidden from operating.
“The real issue will be when the officer fails to fully disclose such interest and what accrues from it. It affects both political office holders and private sector operators when they fail to pay their taxes correctly. To the political office holders, such offence as under-declaration of assets and tax evasion could be established while the private sector operator could be guilty of tax evasion.”
To him, Iceland’s Prime Minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, who has already resigned, because he was named in the leaked papers, may have done so out of moral burden and not necessarily for fouling any law unless there were other facts available to him to have prompted that. In Nigeria, however, resigning from ones position based on such leaks is rare.
Kalu, who sees Nigeria as a “tax haven or sorts” since the country was not strict on ensuring filing of tax returns yearly, submitted that while having shares in offshore companies in tax haven was not an issue, lack of full disclosure on interests in such havens could pose a legal problem.
“Lack of declaration of interest or lack of full disclosure fouls the law on asset declaration for political and public office holders and comes with issues of paying the correct tax. To those in the private sector, it would be a problem when tax is either evaded or avoided. It is evaded when someone who should pay tax does not do so, and avoided when mechanisms are creatively applied either to pay less than one should or not pay at all,” he explained.
How it affects those named
Ibori: Allegedly working through a Swiss asset management firm, Clamorgan S.A. in Geneva, Ibori established several offshore companies, including Stanhope Investments Limited, Julex Foundation and The Hopes Trust, enlisting himself, his wife and daughters as beneficiaries. Ibori allegedly cooked transactions and even tried to obtain loans using some of the shell companies. He was later stopped and tried, before what appeared like a failed plea bargain landed him in jail in the United Kingdom. Most of the assets linked to him have relations and children as holders of interest in the companies. He was a governor and political office holder; so if it is proved that he had interests in such offshore companies without declaring them in his asset declarations, he may still face the law since time does not run against federal offences. His could be failure to fully declare his assets, as well as tax evasion.
T.Y. Danjuma: The retired general and former Defence Minister was named in Panama papers as a user of offshore companies. The Mossac Fonseca files exposed his interest in Eastcoast Investments Inc, allegedly incorporated in Nassau, in the Bahamas. An online medium, Premium Times reported that aside Danjuma running such shell interests, he was fingered among global personalities found to maintain secret accounts, operated with codes, with the Swiss branch of banking giant, HSBC. “He was linked to HSBC account 15731CD, which was opened in 1993 and closed in 2001,” the medium said. If he was earning dividends and profits from such companies and did not pay his taxes accruing from them, he may have fouled tax laws and may be charged. Also, if such foreign accounts were being run when he was still in the Army or as minister, then it may mean trouble for the big fish.
Mark: No fewer than eight companies were reportedly linked to David Mark and they are: Sikera Overseas S.A, Colsan Enterprises Limited, Goldwin Transworld Limited, Hartland Estates Limited, Marlin Holdings Limited, Medley Holdings Limited, Quetta Properties Limited, and Centenary Holdings Limited. However, Section 6 (b) of the Code of Conduct Act provides that a public office holder shall not, “except where he is not employed on full-time basis, engage or participate in the management or running of any private business, profession or trade. If the companies linked to him were not declared in his asset declaration form, which requires that interests of your agents, nominees and trustees must be disclosed, he may be put in the dock for false asset declaration while failure to pay taxes from such companies may earn him another tax evasion or avoidance charges, depending on the results of the investigations. He has already denied complicity in running the shell companies, insisting that he had looked through the document without seeing anything linked to him and has even threatened legal action.
Saraki: He is majorly linked on issues bothering on hidden interests of his wife, Toyin, whose holdings in some companies, he failed to declare in full. There are at least four of such offshore assets listed under his wife’s name. The assets include, a property in London’s plush Belgravia neighborhood, two companies registered in the British Virgin Islands and a third in the Seychelles. The hidden property is said to be located at #8 Whuttaker Street, Belgravia, London SW1W 8JQ. It has title number NGL802235. He was, however, silent on the number of shares the former first lady had in Haussmann and Tiny Tee (Nig) Limited, among others. It will only further his charges at the Code of Conduct Tribunal where he is already contesting allegations of false asset declaration. If it is proven that he had undisclosed interests, more charges could be filed or fortified, while issues of tax payment may also be introduced.
Dangote and Dantata: Dangote is reported to be one of the most prominent clients of Mossack Fonseca, with 13 Shell Companies registered by the firm directly linked to persons and companies connected to the billionaire and his allies. Dangote and Sayyu Dantata, the founder of MRS Holdings, which bought Chevron-Texaco’s with equal shares of 12,500 each from OVLAS S.A, a Shell Company registered in Seycheles, a well-known tax haven used by businessmen and politicians and celebrities. On the same date also, a company they both own as at 2003, MRS Oil and Gas Co. Limited, bought 25,000 shares from OVLAS S.A. If the law can get at people of Dangote’s stature in Nigeria, then issues of tax evasion might be pressed against him, aside from the law looking at the manner of takeover of companies, whether they comply with extant provisions.
Deadline of Compliance: Nigeria’s Urgent Call for Tax Return Filing
By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com
“Shift or Structural Demand? A Declaration of Civic Duty in a Nation at a Fiscal Crossroads.”
In the unfolding narrative of national development and economic reform, few instruments are as defining as tax compliance. For Nigeria, a nation perpetually grappling with revenue shortfalls, structural dependency on a single export commodity, and entrenched informal economic behaviour, the Federal Government’s recent clarification on tax return deadlines is not mere bureaucratic noise. It is a deliberate and inescapable declaration: the social contract between citizen and state must be honoured through transparent, lawful and timely tax reporting.
At its core, the government’s pronouncement is stark in its simplicity and radical in its implications. Federal authorities, speaking through the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, have made it unequivocally clear that every Nigerian, whether employer or individual taxpayer, must file annual tax returns under the law. This encompasses self-assessment filings by individuals that too many assumed ended once employers deducted pay-as-you-earn taxes from their salaries.
This is not an optional civic suggestion, it is mandatory, backed by statute, and tied to a broader vision of national fiscal responsibility. Citizens can no longer hide behind ignorance, apathy, or false assumptions. “Many people assume that if their employer deducts tax from their salaries, their obligations end there. That is wrong,” Oyedele warned, emphasizing that the obligation to file remains with the individual under both existing and newly reformed tax laws.
The Deadlines and the Reality They Reveal.
Across the federation, state and federal revenue authorities have reaffirmed statutory deadlines in pursuit of compliance. The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, for instance, moved to extend its filing date for employer returns by a narrow window, reflecting the reality that compliance often lags behind legal timelines. The extension was intended not as leniency, but as a pragmatic effort to allow accurate and complete submissions, underscoring that true compliance rises above mere mechanical ticking of a box.
At the federal level, Oyedele’s intervention was even more fundamental. He reminded Nigerians that annual tax returns for the preceding year must be filed in good faith, with integrity and in respect of the law. This applies regardless of income level including low-income earners who have historically believed that they are outside the tax net. “All of us must file our returns, including those earning low income,” he stated.
Herein lies one of the most challenging truths of contemporary Nigerian governance: widespread tax non-compliance is not just a technical breach of law, it is a deep cultural and structural issue that reflects decades of mistrust between citizens and the state.
The Root of the Problem: Non-Compliance as a Symptom.
Nigeria’s tax culture has long been under scrutiny. Public discourse and economic analysis consistently show that a significant majority of eligible taxpayers do not file annual returns. Oyedele highlighted that even in states widely regarded as tax administration leaders, compliance remains strikingly low, often below five percent.
This widespread non-compliance stems from multiple sources:
A long history of weak tax administration systems, where enforcement was inconsistent and penalties were rarely applied.
A perception that public services do not reflect the taxes collected, eroding the citizenry’s belief in reciprocity.
An informal economy where income often goes unrecorded, making filing seem irrelevant or impossible to many.
Lack of awareness, with many Nigerians genuinely believing that tax liability ends with employer deductions.
The government’s renewed push for compliance directly challenges these perceptions. It signals a shift from voluntary or lax compliance to structured accountability, a stance that aligns with best practices in modern public finance.
Why This Matters: Beyond Deadlines.
At its most profound level, the insistence on tax return filings is about nation-building and shared responsibility.
Scholars of public finance universally agree that a robust tax system is the backbone of sustainable development. As the eminent economist Dr. Joseph E. Stiglitz has observed, “A society that cannot mobilize its own resources through fair taxation undermines both its government’s legitimacy and its capacity to provide for its people.” Filing tax returns is not a mere administrative task, it is a declaration of participation in the collective project of national advancement.
In Nigeria’s context, this declaration carries weight. With the enactment of comprehensive tax reforms in recent years (including unified frameworks for tax administration and enforcement) authorities now possess broader statutory tools to ensure compliance and accountability. These measures, which include electronic filing platforms and stronger enforcement powers, have been framed as fair and equitable, targeting efficiency rather than arbitrariness.
Yet the success of these reforms depends heavily on citizens embracing their civic duties with sincerity. And this depends on mutual trust, the belief that paying taxes yields tangible benefits in infrastructure, education, healthcare, security and social services.
Voices From Experts: Fiscal Responsibility as a Public Ethic.
Tax law experts and economists, reflecting on the compliance push, have underscored a universal theme: taxation without transparency is inequity, but taxation with accountability is empowerment. When managed with fairness, a functional tax system can reduce dependency on volatile revenue sources, stabilise national budgets, and support long-term investment in human capital.
Professor Aisha Bello, a respected authority in fiscal policy, notes that “Tax compliance is not a burden; it is the foundation upon which social contracts are built. A citizen who honours tax obligations affirms the legitimacy of governance and demands better performance in return.”
Similarly, a leading tax scholar, Dr. Emeka Okon, argues that “The era when Nigerians could evade broader tax responsibilities simply because automatic deductions occur at source must end. For a modern economy, every eligible citizen must be part of the formal tax fold not as victims, but as stakeholders.”
These authoritative voices point to an unassailable truth: filing tax returns is both a legal requirement and a moral responsibility, an expression of citizenship in its fullest sense.
Challenges on the Ground: Compliance and Capacity.
While the rhetoric of compliance is compelling, the reality on the ground demands nuanced understanding. Many taxpayers (especially in the informal sector) lack meaningful access to digital platforms and resources for filing returns. For others, the fear of bureaucratic complexity and perceived punitive enforcement deters participation.
The government, for its part, has responded by promoting online systems and pledging greater taxpayer support. Tax authorities are increasingly engaging stakeholders to demystify filing processes, explain requirements and offer assistance. This mix of enforcement and facilitation is essential. As one seasoned revenue specialist observed: “The state cannot compel compliance through force alone; it must earn it through education, simplicity and fairness.”
The Broader Implication: A New Social Compact.
Ultimately, Nigeria’s renewed emphasis on tax return filing transcends administrative deadlines. It is an unequivocal declaration that national development is a shared responsibility, that citizens and state must engage in a transparent, accountable, and reciprocal relationship.
Tax compliance, therefore, becomes far more than a legal act; it becomes a moral claim on the nation’s future.
When citizens file their returns honestly, they affirm their stake in the nation’s destiny. When the government collects taxes transparently and deploys them effectively, it strengthens not only public services but civic trust itself.
In this sense, the deadlines proclaimed by Nigeria’s fiscal authorities mark not an end but a beginning; the beginning of a civic epoch in which accountability replaces apathy, participation replaces indifference and national purpose triumphs over fragmentation.
The road ahead will not be easy. But in demanding compliance, Nigeria is demanding more than tax returns. It is demanding commitment and that, ultimately, is the foundation on which nations are built.
BUA Foods Records 91% Surge in Profit After Tax, Hits ₦508bn in 2025
By femi Oyewale
Business
Adron Homes Unveils “Love for Love” Valentine Promo with Exciting Discounts, Luxury Gifts, and Travel Rewards
Adron Homes Unveils “Love for Love” Valentine Promo with Exciting Discounts, Luxury Gifts, and Travel Rewards
In celebration of the season of love, Adron Homes and Properties has announced the launch of its special Valentine campaign, “Love for Love” Promo, a customer-centric initiative designed to reward Nigerians who choose to express love through smart, lasting real estate investments.
The Love for Love Promo offers clients attractive discounts, flexible payment options, and an array of exclusive gift items, reinforcing Adron Homes’ commitment to making property ownership both rewarding and accessible. The campaign runs throughout the Valentine season and applies to the company’s wide portfolio of estates and housing projects strategically located across Nigeria.
Speaking on the promo, the company’s Managing Director, Mrs Adenike Ajobo, stated that the initiative is aimed at encouraging individuals and families to move beyond conventional Valentine gifts by investing in assets that secure their future. According to the company, love is best demonstrated through stability, legacy, and long-term value—principles that real estate ownership represents.
Under the promo structure, clients who make a payment of ₦100,000 receive cake, chocolates, and a bottle of wine, while those who pay ₦200,000 are rewarded with a Love Hamper. Payments of ₦500,000 attract a Love Hamper plus cake, and clients who pay ₦1,000,000 enjoy a choice of a Samsung phone or a Love Hamper with cake.
The rewards become increasingly premium as commitment grows. Clients who pay ₦5,000,000 receive either an iPad or an all-expenses-paid romantic getaway for a couple at one of Nigeria’s finest hotels, which includes two nights’ accommodation, special treats, and a Love Hamper. A payment of ₦10,000,000 comes with a choice of a Samsung Z Fold 7, three nights at a top-tier resort in Nigeria, or a full solar power installation.
For high-value investors, the Love for Love Promo delivers exceptional lifestyle experiences. Clients who pay ₦30,000,000 on land are rewarded with a three-night couple’s trip to Doha, Qatar, or South Africa, while purchasers of any Adron Homes house valued at ₦50,000,000 receive a double-door refrigerator.
The promo covers Adron Homes’ estates located in Lagos, Shimawa, Sagamu, Atan–Ota, Papalanto, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Osun, Ekiti, Abuja, Nasarawa, and Niger States, offering clients the opportunity to invest in fast-growing, strategically positioned communities nationwide.
Adron Homes reiterated that beyond the incentives, the campaign underscores the company’s strong reputation for secure land titles, affordable pricing, strategic locations, and a proven legacy in real estate development.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, Adron Homes encourages Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to take advantage of the Love for Love Promo to enjoy exceptional value, exclusive rewards, and the opportunity to build a future rooted in love, security, and prosperity.
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