Lagos State Internal Revenue Service Executive Chairman Ayodele Subair Tuesday demolished online panic over alleged bank account raids, insisting the agency’s “Power of Substitution” targets only hardcore tax dodgers who have exhausted every appeal from tribunals to the Supreme Court over half a decade of disputes.

Ayodele Subair

Subair, speaking on Arise TV, shredded viral fears that LIRS would swoop on residents’ savings without warning, clarifying the mechanism under Section 60 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 kicks in solely after assessments spark objections, reconciliations, demand notices, and a gruelling courtroom odyssey through High Court, Court of Appeal, and apex rulings.

The LIRS weekend notice had ignited fury by announcing enforcement via third parties – banks, employers, tenants, debtors – to claw back unpaid Personal Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Stamp Duties, and Withholding Tax from chronic defaulters holding funds or owing money to them, whether due now or accruing later.

Subair likened the process to a “long timeframe, not less than five years,” where recalcitrant bigwigs who stonewall every step become fair game, with LIRS directing agents like customers or partners to divert payments straight to the taxman in lawful settlement.

Far from arbitrary grabs, the chairman stressed it’s a final resort for “entirely recalcitrant” holdouts who ignore Notice of Refusal to Amend (NORA) and every olive branch, ensuring Lagos coffers snag rightful revenue fuelling the state’s bulging budget without shotgun raids on compliant payers.

As social media buzzes with defiance – “They can’t touch my account!” – Subair’s blueprint spotlights Nigeria’s tax evasion scourge starving subnationals of trillions yearly, with Lagos alone chasing billions in arrears amid federal revenue wars and economic headwinds squeezing the commercial capital’s 25 million souls.

Industry voices nod to the legality but plead for digital dashboards tracking disputes transparently, warning overzealous recovery could spook investors in Africa’s fintech and startup mecca already reeling from naira nosedives and grid glitches.

With LIRS poised to unleash the hammer on vetted violators, Subair’s clarion call aims to separate myth from muscle, bolstering Lagos’ IGR juggernaut that hit N815 billion last year while daring defaulters to test the full judicial gauntlet before crying foul.

Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Ltd, in a strategic move to modernise its operations and foster a results-oriented workforce, has officially adopted the Federal Government’s Performance Management System (PMS).

The initiative, aimed at driving efficiency and institutionalising accountability, was marked by an intensive staff training program designed to align the agency’s operations with national performance goals and the Presidency’s vision for a digital-first public sector.

According to a statement from Stephen Kwande, the Agency’s acting head of Corporate Affairs, “the transition to PMS is a departure from historical evaluation methods. The new system is designed to provide real-time performance tracking and instill a stronger work ethic across all directorates”.

Welcoming participants, Mrs. Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, managing director/CEO of NIGCOMSAT, represented by Abiodun Attah, executive diirector, Technical Services, described the adoption as “long overdue.”

She emphasised that the system is critical for ensuring that NIGCOMSAT contributes effectively to Nigeria’s broader digital economy targets.

In her opening remarks, Mrs. Chinwe Udogu, general manager, Human Resources Management,  expressed NIGCOMSAT’s enthusiasm for the program, urging staff to dedicate themselves fully to the three-day training.

She noted that the exercise was pivotal in repositioning the company to achieve its highest aspirations.

The training consultant, Mrs. Njoku Chioma, said the program is expected to drive culture change, automate work processes, and strengthen institutional performance.

The three-day training, jointly organised by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation and NIGCOMSAT Management, covers key themes including:

• Overview of the FCSSI25 as an institutional performance-driven Federal Civil/Public Service

• Service culture and workplace attitude in the Nigerian public sector

• Implementation of the Performance Management System in NIGCOMSAT

• Application of Artificial Intelligence tools to enhance performance in the Nigerian public sector

The move comes at a time when NIGCOMSAT is expanding its footprint, with recent initiatives like the 2026 SpaceTech Accelerator Programme and partnerships for grassroots digital skills training.

By strengthening its internal management framework, the agency aims to ensure that its technical advancements in satellite technology are matched by an equally efficient administrative engine.

Most companies choose to outsource at least part of their Security Operations Center (SOC), with a significant number adopting SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS), according to global research by Kaspersky.

This strategic move enables organisations to benefit from round-the-clock protection, ensure compliance with regulatory standards and leverage advanced cybersecurity solutions and qualified expertise that are often beyond their internal capabilities.

As cyberthreats become increasingly sophisticated, organisations are rethinking how they build and operate their Security Operations Centers. With this in mind, Kaspersky carried out a comprehensive global survey to identify the main motivations, strategic goals, and potential challenges associated with its planning and implementation¹.

The findings of this research revealed that 64% of companies plan to outsource part of their SOC, combining internal capabilities with external expertise.

Meanwhile, over a quarter of respondents (26%) are ready to fully implement an SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) model. By contrast, only 9% plan to build their SOC entirely in-house, highlighting the growing challenges of maintaining round-the-clock monitoring and attracting qualified specialists.

SOC outsourcing enables organisations to delegate selected SOC functions or even the entire operational cycle to a trusted external provider. This approach can include a variety of services:

Design and architecture of the SOC.

    Deployment and maintenance of SOC technologies.

    Monitoring and analysis by external security analysts.

    Consulting and training services.

Full SOCaaS delivery, where the provider handles detection, investigation and response around the clock.

Most companies prefer maintaining strategic tasks internally, whilst leveraging external teams and advanced technologies for operational and highly technical workloads. Among organisations planning to outsource SOC functions, the most commonly delegated tasks to third-party providers included solution installation and deployment (55%), solution development and provisioning (53%), and SOC design (47%).

When engaging external SOC specialists, companies also showed a clear preference for augmenting specific roles, with first-line analysts (61%) and second-line analysts (52%) being the most in-demand among external specialists. These figures illustrate that companies focus more on frontline and intermediate security tasks, such as monitoring and responding to threats.

Why do organisations choose SOC outsourcing?

The leading motivator for SOC outsourcing is the need for 24/7 protection (55%) – an operational requirement many internal teams cannot sustain alone. Another highly cited benefit is reducing workload on internal IT security specialists (47%), enabling teams to focus on strategic tasks.

Additionally, access to advanced solutions and technologies (42%) and external support to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and standards (41%) further drive the decision to outsource, highlighting the value of specialised expertise and cutting-edge tools such as XDR, MDR, MXDR and others.

Budget optimisation is important for only 37% of companies – indicating that the primary value of outsourcing lies in improved protection, not just cost savings.

“The trend towards outsourcing SOC functions, whether fully or partially, is primarily driven by the necessity for enhanced operational focus and strategic agility. By shifting routine and technical tasks externally, organisations are able to concentrate on high-value activities such as strategic decision-making and orchestrating responses to sophisticated threats.

“Moreover, this approach often results in considerable cost efficiencies, allowing for optimised resource allocation. Ultimately, this model transforms the SOC into a critical strategic capability, directly contributing to business continuity,” comments Sergey Soldatov, Head of Security Operations Center at Kaspersky.