Business
Miyetti Allah Vows To Sue Southern Governors
Business
NCC drags MTN, 4 others to court over copyright infringement
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has filed criminal charges against MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd. and four others over alleged copyright infringement.
The charge with Number FHC/ABJ/CR/111/2024 filed in the Federal High Court, Abuja Division was obtained on Monday.
The four other defendants in the case are; Karl Toriola, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria, Nkeakam Abhulimen, Fun Mobile Ltd. and Yahaya Maibe.
In the three-count charge, NCC alleged that the defendants, between 2010 and 2017 “offered for sale, sold and traded for business’’, infringed musical works of an artist, Maleke Idowu Moye without his consent and authorisation.
The Commission alleged that the defendants used musical works and sound recordings of Maleke with subsisting copyright, as Caller Ring Back Tunes, without the authorisation of the artiste.
The musical works and sound recordings of the musician allegedly infringed upon included; 911, Minimini-wanawana, Stop racism, Ewole, 911 instrumental, Radio, Low waist, and No bother.
The defendants were also alleged to have distributed the musical works to their subscribers, without authorisation, thereby, infringing on the rights of the artiste.
In the third count, the defendant were alleged to have in their possession, other than for their private or domestic use, the musical works and sound recordings of the artiste.
According to NCC, the alleged offences are contrary to and punishable under section 20 (2) (a) (b) and (c) of the Copyright Act, Cap. C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The case is yet to be assigned to any judge and no date has been fixed for mention.
Business
FG files criminal charges against Binance
The Federal Government has initiated criminal proceedings against Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange platform over alleged tax evasion.
The charges, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, were announced on Monday by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS.
The lawsuit, designated as suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, implicates Binance with a four-count tax evasion accusation.
FIRS, in a statement issued on Monday by Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser, Media to the Executive Chairman of the service, said the move was aimed at upholding fiscal responsibility and safeguarding the economic integrity of Nigeria.
Joined with the crypto company as second and third defendants in the suit are Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, both senior executives of Binance currently under the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The charges levied against Binance include non-payment of Value-Added Tax, VAT, Company Income Tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform.
In the suit, the FG also accused Binance of failure to register with FIRS for tax purposes and contravening existing tax regulations within the country.
According to the statement, one of the counts in the lawsuit pertains to Binance’s alleged failure to collect and remit various categories of taxes to the federation as stipulated by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 as amended.
Section 40 of the Act explicitly addresses the non-deduction and non-remittance of taxes, prescribing penalties and potential imprisonment for defaulting entities.
The charges further detailed specific instances where Binance purportedly violated tax laws, such as failing to issue invoices for VAT purposes, thus obstructing the determination and payment of taxes by subscribers.
“Any company that transacts business in excess of N25 million annually is deemed by the Finance Act to be present in Nigeria.
“According to this rule, Binance falls into that category. So, it has to pay taxes like Company Income Tax, CIT and also collect and pay Value Added Tax, VAT.
“But Binance did not do this properly. So, the company broke Nigerian laws and could be investigated and taken to court for this infraction,” Adekanmbi said.
Business
Prices of foodstuffs increase by 100percent- NBS report
The prices of rice, garri, and yam, popular staple foods in Nigeria, surged to 134.81 per cent, 109.16 per cent and 131.33 per cent, respectively, in February 2024 compared to last year.
This is according to the National Bureau of Statistics in its latest selected food price watch in February.
Accordingly, the report said 1kg of local rice increased by 134.81 per cent to N1,222.97 in February 2024 from N520.84 last year.
Similarly, the average price of garri increased to N723.45 in February 2024 from N345.88 in February 2023.
Also, the price of yam increased to N1009.56 in February 2024 from N436.41 in February 2023.
On a month-on-month basis, the prices of rice, Garri and yam rose by 19.69 per cent, 20.44 per cent and 11.93 per cent, respectively
In addition, NBS said the price of 500g of sliced bread increased by 89.48 per cent between February 2023 and February 2024
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