Traders under the umbrella of the Coalition of Associations in Computer Village, Ikeja (CACOVI) shut their shops on Otigba Street over the weekend in a peaceful show of solidarity as they renewed calls on the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) to reopen plazas sealed during a tax enforcement exercise.
Although business activities were suspended, traders gathered along Otigba Street throughout the day while the affected shops remained closed.
The solidarity action followed a reminder letter sent by CACOVI to the LIRS on 23 July 2026, urging the agency to immediately reopen the sealed plazas and convene an emergency stakeholders’ meeting to resolve the dispute.
According to the coalition, the crisis began after LIRS officials sealed several plazas over allegations that some market leaders had failed to fully comply with an agreed tax payment arrangement.
The affected plazas have remained closed since last Wednesday, making it the first time in the market’s history that shops have been shut for an entire week over a tax-related dispute, CACOVI said.
CACOVI President, Timi Famoroti, alleged that the LIRS had departed from terms previously agreed with sections of the market leadership.
He said traders had consistently complied with rising tax obligations, with many paying annual taxes of up to N50,100 before the enforcement exercise.
According to Famoroti, the tax agency subsequently demanded three years’ tax arrears despite the earlier agreement. He added that some traders who had already fulfilled their tax obligations also had their businesses affected when entire plazas, and eventually Otigba Street, were sealed.
Famoroti further criticised the LIRS for engaging only selected market leaders rather than CACOVI, which he described as the umbrella body representing more than 50 associations, including plaza heads, within Computer Village.
“The information was not passed to the whole market,” he said, while maintaining that the coalition supports the state’s revenue drive but believes dialogue is the best way to resolve the dispute.
The coalition’s Vice-President, Chinedu Mbakwe, also questioned the demand for three years’ tax arrears, arguing that traders had records of annual tax payments. He said sealing entire plazas over personal income tax disputes unfairly penalised compliant traders alongside those alleged to have defaulted.
A trader, Andrew Azionu of Bush Bill Ventures, claimed the dispute intensified after LIRS officials allegedly requested sensitive personal information, including Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), National Identification Numbers (NIN) and details of traders’ children as part of a new tax assessment process.
He said many traders were reluctant to provide the information because of concerns about fraud and unauthorised access to their financial details. He also questioned why Computer Village appeared to be facing stricter tax enforcement than other markets in Lagos.
In an internal mobilisation message circulated to plaza heads, Famoroti called for a total suspension of business activities in solidarity with affected traders, alleging that the LIRS had breached an earlier agreement.
In its letter to the Director of the Informal Sector Department of the LIRS, CACOVI said the closure had disrupted the livelihoods of more than 300,000 people who depend directly or indirectly on the market. The coalition also noted that a stakeholders’ meeting scheduled for 22 July did not take place.
It called on the LIRS to immediately and unconditionally reopen all sealed plazas and reschedule the meeting with the coalition’s leadership.
As of the time of filing this report, the LIRS had acknowledged receipt of CACOVI’s letter but had yet to fix a date for the requested meeting. The agency had also not responded to emails seeking its official position on the dispute, while traders said the prolonged standoff continued to affect businesses across the market.
