Stamp Duty: Nigeria’s 36 States Drag Malami To Court

Hamilton Nwosa
Writer

Ad

Just In! APC Dominates Rivers LG Polls, Secures 20 Seats While PDP Claims Three

By Abiola Olawale The All Progressives Congress (APC) has swept the recent Rivers State Local Government elections, clinching 20 out of 23 chairmanship positions. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), long a dominant force in Rivers politics, only secured three chairmanship positions in Saturday's Rivers State Local Government polls. The results were announced by the Rivers…

SERAP Slams FG, Says Passport Fee Hike is Illegal

• Urges Tinubu to Reverse Decision By Abiola Olawale The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has condemned the Federal Government’s recent decision to increase Nigerian passport fees. This is as the organisation labelled the move as “arbitrary, unlawful, and discriminatory.” The New Diplomat reports that the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recently announced that, starting…

#GEJ2027: A Hostage In The Lap Of The Judges By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

Seven years ago, in 2018, my good friend and former Dean of Law at the University of Ghana at Legon, Professor Raymond Atuguba, undertook a path-breaking study which sought “to move away from the perception that Justices of the Supreme Court dispense justice impartially under a constitutional democracy and reflect on the influences on the…

Ad

The Attorney-general of the federation, Abubakar Malami has been sued by Nigeria’s 36 state attorneys general over alleged non-remittance of stamp duties fund generated from the states.

The attorneys sued because funds generated from stamp duties are not remitted into states’ coffers, a court document said.

An order of the court was sought to mandate the federal government to pay N176 billion for the backlog of stamp duties received between 2015 and 2020.

“An order of this honourable court directing the defendant to pay over to the plaintiffs all the sum of monies amounting to one hundred and seventy-six billion, sixty-seven million, four hundred thousand naira (N176,067,400,000,00) representing ascertained and admitted collected stamp duties on individual persons’ transactions within their respective states for the period of 2015 and 2020,” said the document, “and thereafter till the time of the judgment of this honourable court or any other sum as the plaintiffs may be found entitled by the honourable court.

“Restraining the defendant by himself, privies, agents or any persons by whatever name or how so ever called from appointing anyone for the purpose of collecting Stamp Duties on individual persons’ transactions within the respective states of the plaintiffs henceforth.”

The attorneys sought to declare that Malami had no right to withhold stamp duty transactions from individuals in their states.

They also asked the court to stop Malami from collecting and administering stamp duties.

“A declaration that the defendant is not entitled to collect, administer, or keep the proceeds of any stamp duties on transactions involving individuals within the respective states of the plaintiffs or any manner interfere with the plaintiff’s right and authority in the administering the provision of Section 4(2) of the Stamp Duties Act Cap. S8 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria,” the court document revealed.

The states sought the court to declare their entitlement to receive 85 per cent of stamp duties generated from electronic money transfer levies and others.

Ad

X whatsapp