Kayode Sofola
Kayode Sofola | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ogun State, Nigeria |
| Occupations | Lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, commercial litigator, tax specialist |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Known for | Founding partner of Kayode Sofola & Associates; Chairman of United Bank for Africa (2004–2007); Chairman, Tax Appeal Tribunal (Lagos Zone) |
| Parent | Kehinde Sofola (father) |
| Relatives | Idowu Sofola (uncle) |
Kayode Sofola, SAN, is a Nigerian lawyer, commercial litigator and tax specialist. He is the founding partner of the law firm Kayode Sofola & Associates (also known as KS Legal) and previously served as chairman of the board of United Bank for Africa (UBA) from 2004 to 2007.[1][2]
Education
Sofola obtained an LLB in Law from the University of Birmingham in 1974 and an LLM in Commercial Law from University College London in 1975. He was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in July 1976 and was appointed a Notary Public in 1983. He was conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 1995.[1]
Career
Sofola began his practice at his father’s firm, Kehinde Sofola & Co., from 1976 to 1983, rising to Managing Partner. In 1990 he established Kayode Sofola & Associates.[1][3]
He served as a non-executive director of United Bank for Africa from 1994 to 2004 and as chairman of the board from 2004 to 2007, during which period he oversaw the bank’s merger with Standard Trust Bank and the subsequent integration.[1] He later sat on the board of EMTS (Etisalat Nigeria) Limited until 2016.[1]
Sofola has held several public and quasi-judicial roles in tax administration. He was a panel member of the VAT Tribunal (Western Zone) from 2000 to 2007 and served as acting chairman of the VAT Tribunal (Eastern Zone) in 2005. He was the first chairman of the Lagos Zone of the Tax Appeal Tribunal, serving from 2010 to 2016.[1][4] In that capacity he chaired the five-member panel that ordered Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to pay approximately US$83.4 million (about ₦13.09 billion) in education tax to the Federal Inland Revenue Service for the 2008 year of assessment.[5][6]
He has also served as a member of and legal adviser to the Vision 20:2020 National Technical Working Group on the Judiciary and Rule of Law, and as a member of and legal adviser to the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.[1]
Personal life
Sofola is the eldest son of Chief Kehinde Sofola, SAN, CON (1924–2007), a prominent Nigerian jurist who served as Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice during the Second Nigerian Republic.[7][8] His uncle was Chief Idowu Sofola, SAN, MON, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and Chairman of the Nigerian Body of Benchers.[9]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Kayode Sofola, SAN". Kayode Sofola & Associates. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
- ↑ "Every Nigerian woman is a designer — Kayode Sofola(SAN)". Vanguard. Lagos. 27 November 2010.
- ↑ "History". Kayode Sofola & Associates. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
- ↑ "Kayode Sofola (SAN): Seven Years at Tax Appeal Tribunal". National Waves. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
- ↑ "Tax Evasion: Nigerian Court Orders US Oil Firm ExxonMobil To Pay $83 million For 2008". Sahara Reporters. News Agency of Nigeria. 23 June 2013.
- ↑ "Tribunal orders Mobil to pay N13.09bn to FIRS". The Nation. 22 June 2013.
- ↑ See also: Kehinde Sofola
- ↑ Babalola, Olumide (2013). The Attorney General: Chronicles and Perspectives. ISBN 9789789313839.
- ↑ See also: Idowu Sofola