A civil society organisation, Lawyers for Civil Liberties, has invoked the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to request access to the memorandum of understanding signed between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and France’s tax authority.
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In a letter dated December 17, 2025, and addressed to the Executive Chairman of FIRS, the group cited Sections 2, 5 and 21 of the FOI Act, 2011, in its request for access.
This comes amid rising public concerns over data protection and alleged lack of transparency in the agreement signed with France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP).
The group said disclosure of the agreement would help Nigerians understand how the partnership aligns with national interests while protecting taxpayer information and Nigeria’s fiscal sovereignty.
“We commend FIRS for its ongoing efforts to modernize tax administration and adopt digital solutions that enhance efficiency and citizen trust. In this spirit, we respectfully request access, under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between FIRS and France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP),” the group wrote.
In the letter signed by its National Coordinator, Opatota Victor, the organisation added that public access to the MoU would help strengthen confidence in the tax system and clarify the scope of the FIRS-France partnership.
The request follows the signing of the MoU last week by FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, and the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Marc Fonbaustier, at the French Embassy in Abuja.
According to the FIRS, the agreement places it in a formal working partnership with France’s DGFiP, one of Europe’s most technologically advanced tax authorities, with a focus on technical cooperation, knowledge sharing and digital capacity building.
However, the announcement of the partnership triggered public debate, with concerns raised over whether the agreement could involve the handling or transfer of Nigerians’ taxpayer data to France.
These concerns have fueled calls for the full terms of the MoU to be made public.
FIRS has denied that the agreement authorises data sharing, maintaining that the MoU is limited to institutional collaboration and does not permit the transfer of taxpayer information.
The controversy comes just weeks before the implementation of new tax laws starting January 2026.
To implement the new laws, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, had disclosed that Nigeria has entered into agreements with over 100 countries to gather data of remote workers for tax.
According to him, regardless of the company or country, every remote worker in Nigeria is obligated to declare their income by themselves.
The plan to track income of remote workers had also raised data privacy concerns among Nigerians, who felt the government might be breaching their privacy in its bid to monitor tax compliance.
Meanwhile, a flyer trending online with the write-up “FRANCE-NIGERIA TAX COOPERATION MOU” asks: “How will Nigeria remit 1.5% of tax collected to France as a technical support fee without prior legislative approval?” This has added to a rumour showing the need to publish the agreement record, since it has to do with tax and transparency.
As the civil society organisation awaits FIRS’ response to its FOI request, several questions remain unanswered:
- What are the exact terms of the MoU between FIRS and France’s tax authority?
- Does the agreement involve any form of data sharing or transfer of taxpayer information?
- Is there a financial component to the agreement, including any technical support fees?
- Was the National Assembly consulted or its approval sought before signing the MoU?
- How does the agreement align with Nigeria’s data protection laws and fiscal sovereignty?
The FOI Act, 2011, grants Nigerian citizens and organisations the right to request access to information held by public institutions, with limited exceptions for matters of national security or confidential commercial information.
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As public scrutiny intensifies, the transparency with which FIRS handles this FOI request could set an important precedent for how government agencies engage with citizens on matters of public interest, particularly in the sensitive area of taxation and international agreements.
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