The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to publicly release certified true copies of tax bills received from the National Assembly and the tax laws subsequently signed into law.

SERAP said the request followed allegations that discrepancies exist between tax bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions eventually gazetted by the Federal Government.

The organisation said the documents sought include the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, and the Nigeria Tax Act.

It also asked the President to clarify whether the versions of the tax bills transmitted by the National Assembly were the same as those signed into law and later gazetted.

The request was contained in a Freedom of Information letter dated December 20, 2025, according to a statement issued on Sunday by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.

In the letter, SERAP called on the President to set up an independent panel of inquiry to investigate claims that material changes were made to the tax laws after they were passed by lawmakers.

“The proposed panel should be headed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria or the Court of Appeal. The findings of the panel should be made public, and anyone found responsible for the alleged alterations must be prosecuted, as appropriate,” the organisation said.

SERAP argued that making certified copies of both the bills received from the National Assembly and the signed tax laws publicly available would allow Nigerians to scrutinise the documents and compare them with the versions eventually gazetted.

“Widely publishing a certified true copy of the version of the tax bills received from the National Assembly and a certified true copy of the tax laws signed by you would allow Nigerians to scrutinise the laws and compare them with the version of the tax laws ultimately gazetted,” the group stated.

SERAP warned that any unlawful alteration of legislation after passage would violate the 1999 Constitution (as amended), international human rights standards, and the principles of separation of powers and the rule of law.

The organisation gave the Federal Government seven days to respond, warning that it would take legal action if the request was ignored.

“If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government and the Attorney General to comply with our request in the public interest,” it said.

The development followed a point of privilege raised on December 17 by Abdussamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) in the House of Representatives, drawing attention to alleged discrepancies between harmonised tax bills passed by lawmakers and the versions later gazetted by the Federal Government.