Featured
China threatens to cremate body of a deceased Nigerian after six year in custody
By Chinaka Okeke
The Chinese Authority has threatened to cremate the body of a deceased Nigerian who has been in their custody since 2017.
The deceased , Mr, Omokaro Lolo, with standard Passport number A027-4437H hailed from Esan South Local Government, Edo state.
Mr, Lolo was born on 17, April, 1977 in Udo village, Esan South Local Government, Edo state.
Though the Nigerian consulate office in Shanghai , China said the cause of the death was not known yet.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Consulate in Shanghai said efforts are underway to trace the family of the deceased in Nigeria.
In a release from the Nigerian Consulate in Shanghai , with caption “BRIEF ON THE DEATH OF MR, OMOKARO LQLO, NIGERIAN WHO DIED IN SHANGHAI ON OCTOBER, 2017” narrating said ,”the Consulate received a note from Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau dated 3CT October, 2017 informing the death of Mr, Omokaro Lolo, with standard Passport number A027-4437H. Mr, Lolo was born on 17, April, 1977 in Udo village, Esan South Local Government, Edo state.
” Even though, the cause of death was not mentioned in the note, the Consulate on 18th December 2020 requested the bureau for a little time to be able to reach out to the deceased family and make proper arrangement for either deporting the corpse back to Nigerian or cremating it In China.
“Similarly, on the 11th of December, 2020, the Bureau wrote to the Consulate requesting for consent to process and cremate the tody at Minhang funeral House after being in custody for 3 years and in accordance with law, the ashes would be kept for one more year since the family had never contacted, Furthermore, on the 26th of February, 2021, another note was sent by the Bureau, issuing deadline for family’s refusal to contact in respect of the corpse. The Bureau appealed to the Consulate to reach out to the family and revert within 30 days otherwise the Bureau would commence the process of cremating the body and keep the ashes for another one year.
“In response to the note on 3rd March, 2021, the Consulate informed that due to the upsurge of the Covid-19 in Nigeria, it was unable to contact the family, therefore, requested for more time within which the family of the deceased could be contacted for final decision as regards to the corpse.”
“The effort by the Consulate to trace the family Is still on-going,” the release said.
” Members of the deceased family should contact this telephone no. +8615102193100,” it added.
Business
Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

Ismaila Ahmad Abdullahi Ph.D
The public hearings conducted recently by the two Chambers of the National Assembly have elicited positive responses from a broad spectrum of Nigerians, cutting across regional interest groups, government agencies, civil society groups, concerned individuals, the academia, and Labour Unions, among diverse others. Contrary to a few dissensions hitherto expressed in the media, almost all the stakeholders who spoke during the week-long sessions were unanimous in their declaration that the hallowed Chambers should pass the tax reform bills after a clean-up of the grey areas.
The public hearings were auspicious for all Nigerians desirous of economic growth and fiscal responsibility. They were also a watershed moment for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which had been upbeat about the tax reforms. Indeed, the public hearings had rekindled hope in the tenets of democracy that guarantee freedom of expression and equitable space for cross-fertilisation of ideas. Without gainsaying the fact, the tax reform bills have been unarguably about the most thought-provoking issues in Nigeria today, drawing variegated perspectives and commentaries from even unlikely quarters such as the faith-based leaders, student bodies, and trade unions, which speaks much about the importance of the bills.
In the build-up to the public hearings, not many people believed that the bills would make it to the second reading, much less the public hearings. Even the Northern stakeholders who seemed unlikely to support the passage of the bills have softened their stance and have given valuable suggestions that would enrich the substance of the bills. The Arewa Consultative Forum came to the public hearings well-prepared with a printed booklet that addressed their concerns. It concluded with an advisory that the bills should be “Well planned, properly communicated, strategically implemented and ample dialogue and political consensus allowed for the reforms to be accepted.”
The concerns of ACF ranged from the composition of the proposed Nigeria Revenue Service Board as contained in Part 111, Section 7 of the bill, the unlimited Presidential power to exempt/wave tax payment as proposed in Section 75(1) of the bill, the family income or inheritance tax as contained in Part 1, Section 4(3) of the bill, to the issues around development levy and VAT. On the development levy, the ACF stated that unless the Federal Government is considering budgetary funding for TETFUND, NASENI and NITDA, it does not see the “wisdom behind the plan to replace (them) with NELFUND”.
The position of the North was equally reinforced by the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, Northern Elders Forum, Kano State Government, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, and the FCT Imams. Like the ACF, these stakeholders lent their respective voices to the Section on the Inheritance Tax in Part 1 of the bill and the use of the term ‘ecclesiastical’, which, in their views, undermines certain religious rights and beliefs. The Kano State Government, represented by Mahmud Sagagi, affirmed that “we support tax modernisation” but cautioned that “we must ensure that this process does not come at the expense of states’ constitutional rights and economic stability”. Professor Auwalu Yadudu, a constitutional law professor, drew attention to the use of the ‘supremacy clause’ and cautioned that the repeated use of “notwithstanding” in the bills would undermine the supremacy of the Nigerian constitution if passed as such.
Other stakeholders that made contributions at the sessions included the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, and a host of others. While most of their concerns bordered on technical issues requiring fine-tuning, they were unanimous in their support for the bills. They aligned with the position of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, Ph.D. and the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, which is that the extant tax laws and fiscal regulations are obsolete necessitating reforms aimed at creating a fair and equitable tax and fiscal space to grow Nigeria’s economy.
In one of the sessions, Dr Zaach Adedeji expounded on the criss-cross of trade activities in the Free Trade Zone whereby companies misuse tax waivers as exporters to sell their goods or services in the Customs Area at an amount usually less than the price the operators in the Customs Area who pay VAT and other taxes sell theirs thereby disrupting business transactions. This way, the operators in the Free Trade Zone shortchange the government in paying their due taxes by circumventing extant regulations, which are inimical to the economy’s growth.
Overall, the presentations were forthright, foresighted, and helpful in elucidating the issues contained in the bills. According to the statistics read out at the end of the hearings at the Senate, 75 stakeholders were invited, 65 made submissions, and 61 made presentations. At the House of Representatives 53 stakeholders made presentations. By all means, this is a fair representation. Given the presentations, it is evident that the National Assembly has gathered enough materials to guide its deliberations on the bills. As we look forward to the passage of the bills, we commend the leadership of the National Assembly for their unwavering commitment to making the bills see the light of the day.
Abdullahi is the Director of the Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS.
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