A high court in Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory has refused to block the federal government's planned implementation of new tax laws set to take effect on January 1, ruling that it does not have the power to suspend a law already signed into law without evidence of wrongdoing.
Justice Bello Kavu dismissed an ex-parte application filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the African Initiative for Abuse of Public Trust, which sought to prevent the government from implementing the new tax regime until the legal challenges are resolved.
In a ruling delivered on December 23 and released on Wednesday, Kavu said the applicant failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify an interim injunction. He said that passing such an order would amount to pre-judging important issues before the court.
The judge said, “Once an act is signed into law, it can only be repealed by the legislature or annulled after full consideration by the court.” He said that an ex-parte application cannot be used to stop an Act from coming into force.
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Kavu ruled that the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 and related laws would take effect from January 1, 2026 and remain in force pending the hearing and determination of the original suit. The court adjourned further proceedings till January 9, 2026.
The group had asked the court to halt the implementation of four newly enacted laws including the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act and the Joint Board of Revenue (Establishment) Act of Nigeria, citing unresolved controversies surrounding their passage and gazettement.
Named as defendants were the Federal Government, the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the National Assembly, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Refusing to grant interim relief, the court approved substituted service of court papers. It ordered that papers for the federal government be served through the Attorney-General's office, while papers for the leadership of the National Assembly be served through the clerk of the legislature.
The decision comes amid calls for political protest over delays in implementing tax laws and demands for an ongoing parliamentary inquiry into alleged discrepancies between the versions passed by lawmakers and the officially gazetted versions.
