The acting Chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu has lamented that
some Senior Advocates of Nigeria have been frustrating the anti-corruption war.
Magu disclosed that a particular
senior advocate received N1.7bn in legal fees from a corrupt politician.
He said the same individual
received N300m from a governor in the South-South as legal fees for an election
petition case and failed to pay tax but quickly took advantage of the Voluntary
Asset and Income Declaration Scheme when he realised he was under probe.
The EFCC boss said this in a
piece titled, ‘Need for Ethical Reforms as NBA Conference Begins.’
Magu said, “It is personally
disheartening to see lawyers who invest their talents and expertise in
advancing the cause of corrupt politicians and public officials. It is amazing
that a senior lawyer can accept professional fees of N1.7bn from a politician
without scruples!
“The same lawyer with a turnover
of N3, 765,414,995.24 only paid valued added tax of N7, 051,928.24. The N300m
cash payment which the senior lawyer received from a South-South state
government in an election petition matter in 2016 was never captured in his tax
submissions to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
“Yet when he got wind of EFCC
investigation, he was quick to take advantage of the VAIDS window as cover to
shield himself from the commission’s dragnet.”
The EFCC boss said another senior
advocate evaded taxes running into billions of naira but paid only a fraction
of the amount.
“Another senior lawyer who is
quick to advertise himself as the nemesis of the EFCC, has a turnover of over
N5.1bn with an assessed total tax liability of over a billion naira between
2010 and 2017. Sadly, he merely declared a meagre N8m as gross earnings for
2014 and 2015, and N10m for 2016,” Magu said.
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