Legal practitioner and public affairs analyst, Dr Chris Nwokobia, has warned that Nigeria’s new tax law poses a serious threat to democracy, alleging that the legislation has been forged and altered in ways that could enable authoritarian governance.
Speaking on ARISE News on Saturday, Nwokobia described the 2025 Tax Appropriation Act as fundamentally compromised, insisting it should not be implemented in its current form.
“We have a National Tax Appropriation Act that is forged. I will not address it until it is cleaned up and made right,” he said.
Nwokobia alleged that at least 8 major alterations were made to the law after it was passed by the National Assembly, arguing that most Nigerians remain unaware of the changes.
“You have 8 major alterations. Most Nigerians do not know,” he said.
He accused unnamed actors of deliberately tampering with key provisions of the law, particularly thresholds determining who should be taxed.
“Those who went behind the scenes to doctor, forge, fake and alter that law reduced the thresholds. That is substantial forgery,” he said.
One of his strongest concerns centred on provisions he said empower tax authorities to arrest citizens without a court order.
“They went into that act and said the taxman can come to your house to arrest you without a court order,” Nwaokobia said. “Are you not scared? Are you not worried?”
According to him, such powers place tax officials above established security institutions.
“That means that this taxman is going to have much more power than almost the IG of police,” he added.
Nwokobia warned that the law could be weaponised for political purposes, describing it as a dangerous precedent.
“This new tax law can also serve for a weapon of politics,” he said.
He went further to accuse Nigeria’s political leadership, clergy and institutions of silence in the face of what he called a grave national danger.
“If you’re a clergy and you’re not concerned and you’re not speaking out, you’re rogue,” he said. “If you’re in the National Assembly and you’re not speaking up and speaking out, you’re rogue.”
Nwaokobia also criticised what he described as unchecked executive power embedded in the law.
“This new tax law allows for authoritarianism, despotism, dictatorship and impunity on our face,” he said.
Addressing suggestions that the law could be corrected through re-gazetting or legal action, Nwokobia expressed scepticism.
“How do you re-gazette without reviewing?” he asked. “We went to court in 2023. What came out of it? Going to court is now the praxis for just wasting some time.”
Looking ahead to 2026, he rejected claims that the year would mark consolidation for the current administration, insisting urgent reforms were required.
“If anybody’s saying that 2026 is going to be a year of consolidation, I ask God to forgive the person. It’s going to be a year of corrections. Nothing but corrections,” he said.
He linked the tax debate to worsening economic conditions, arguing that government claims of recovery do not reflect lived realities.
“Nigerians are hungrier, angrier and more despondent than ever,” Nwaokobia said.
He also questioned the morality of increased taxation in a country where citizens largely provide basic services for themselves.
“No nation taxes itself out of poverty. You don’t tax the poor,” he said. “I provide my electricity. I still pay tax. We provide our security. We still pay tax.”
Nwokobia urged the government to prioritise honesty and accountability, calling on President Bola Tinubu and his advisers to confront what he described as widespread public distrust.
“I would love to trust Mr President. But I need facts and figures,” he said. “Nigerians do not trust your government because you say one thing today, you do another thing tomorrow.”
He concluded by urging leaders to speak truthfully to citizens in the year ahead.
“I want to say to those who speak for our president to lie less in 2026,” Nwaokobia said. “Tell more truth because Nigerians have the data on their hands. Nigerians want a country that works.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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