Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014 — 9
Lagos seals 23 firms over tax default
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AGOS—THE Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, LIRS, has sealed 23 companies over the non-remittance of N326.6 million personal income taxes of workers in January. Mrs. Folasade CokerAfolayan, the Head of Distrain Unit, said yesterday in Lagos that the taxes were the personal income taxes for a period of one year to six years. She restated that tax payment was a civic responsibility of every citizen, adding that the proceeds were being used by the government to provide infrastructure. She said: “Tax is a major source of government revenue. It enables it to provide infrastructure and improve the citizens’ standard of living.” Coker-Afolayan said that LIRS would continue to sanction tax defaulters and advised companies to remit taxes promptly to avoid embarrassment. She said that it was a criminal offence to break government’s seals on sealed companies.
Amosun laments Ondo ghastly crash
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BEOKUTA—OGUN State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has sympathised with the government and people of Ondo State as well as the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, over the ghastly road accident which occurred along the Akure-Ondo expressway in Ondo State at the weekend. He said the accident, which happened at Aponmu village and involved the deputy governor, Alhaji Alli Olanusi and the Osunmakinde of Ife Tuntun, Osun State, Oba Obawure Taofeek Olaposi, claiming four lives, including the Chairman of the NUJ, NTA, Akure chapel, Mr. Alex Akinwale and some of his family members, was very sad. In a press release by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mrs. Funmi Wakama, Senator Amosun, who condoled with the family of the deceased, also described the accident as lamentable.
BY ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH & ONOZURE DANIA AGOS—GOVERNOR of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, has stressed the need for judges and legal practitioners to seek continuous legal training and scholarship to promote the cause of justice in the country. Fashola’s call was coming as a former Justice of the supreme court, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, who was a former Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission, ICPC, regretted the depletion in the knowledge of law, arguing that the time is now for stakeholders to establish a fund for legal scholarship. Fashola who was speaking as a special guest at the public presentation of a book entitled, 'Civil Litigation- A Quick Reference Guide to Substantive Law and Procedure’, written by a Lagos high court judge, Justice Oludotun Adefowope-Okojie said most often times he wondered about different decisions emanating from the appellate courts in the country, especially on issues of objections filed by lawyers in courts. He expressed surprise on the attitude of lawyers who profited on technicalities to delay cases in court, saying to him such attitude is basic lack of the knowledge of law. He said: “Filing unnecessary objections or relying on technicalities does not advance the cause of justice. We should consider the objections we file in courts. “That is why we must
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FACILITIES' TOUR: Lagos State deputy governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire (2nd right), Chief Medical Director, Gbagada General Hospital, Dr. Adekunle Dauda (right), presenting baby products to new born babies, during the deputy governor's tour of the hospital facilities and interactive session with health workers in Lagos.
Fashola wants continuous training for legal practitioners zAs Ayoola regrets depletion in the knowledge of law continue to emphasise the necessity for continuous training and legal scholarship. I think continuing legal education will help us to see what they are doing in other jurisdiction.” Speaking on the efforts of the sitting judge to write the 530-page book, Fashola said he never doubted the integrity
and legal astuteness of Justice Adefowope-Okojie, while encouraging others to emulate the author and said the government was considering the establishment of a legal institute to compete with the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, NIALS. He advised judges and legal practitioners to update
Police nab 22-yr-old for cloning Egba monarch's facebook
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BY IFEANYI OKOLIE
AGOS—A middle-aged man, Gani Akinmade, has been arrested by operatives of the Special Fraud Unit, Milverton, Ikoyi, Lagos, for allegedly cloning the identity of the Alake of Egbaland on facebook, with an attempt to defraud unsuspecting members of the public. The Commissioner of Police SFU, Tunde Ogunsakin, in a statement said the unit received a complaint on July 22, 2013, where it was alleged that between May 3 and 22, 2013, a frausdster with phone number 08096897566 opened a facebook account with the name of HRM Oba Micheal Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland and attempted to swindle one O l u b u k o l a Awofeso, a UK resident whom he met on social network facebook,
of N300,000.00. The suspect was also said to have attempted to lure the victim to partner in a business of supplying 300 transformers valued at more than N1 billion. The said Gani Akinmade is 22-year-old and a native of Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State. A dropout of Tai Solarin College of Education, Ijebu-Ode. He confessed to the crime but stated that he conspired with one Seyi Lewis and Ifeanyi to perpetrate the fraud.
themselves with the workings of the profession in order to effectively and efficiently discharge their responsibilities. The governor also reiterated the administration’s commitment to continue to reform its laws, adding that the revised edition of the Lagos State Laws would soon be published.