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Prominent lawyer, Yada Williams, has accused the National Revenue Authority (National Revenue Authority) of unlawfully sealing the premises of his law firm, Yada Williams & Associates (Yada Williams & Associates), despite what he says was a subsisting High Court order restraining such action.
In a public statement dated 21 May 2026, Williams said the incident occurred on 20 May when NRA officials, accompanied by armed police personnel and media crews, went to his office and sealed the premises in what he described as direct violation of a High Court injunction issued earlier that same day.
He explained that he had initiated legal proceedings on 18 May challenging the NRA’s claim of alleged outstanding taxes, adding that the court order was duly served on the Commissioner-General and the Authority’s legal department prior to the enforcement action.
Williams further alleged that although the premises were later reopened shortly after the incident, the initial sealing constituted contempt of court and an abuse of administrative power.
The dispute, according to Williams, relates to alleged rental income taxes connected to properties located at Fourah Bay Close, Off Main Motor Road, Wilberforce, Freetown, which he says are owned by him and leased to the United Nations Development Programme (United Nations Development Programme) since September 2018.
He argued that tenancy agreements between himself and the UNDP stipulate that rent payments are made net of applicable Government of Sierra Leone taxes, which are withheld at source by the tenant in line with statutory requirements.
Citing provisions of the Income Tax Act 2000 and the Finance Act 2018, Williams maintained that institutional tenants are legally required to deduct rental taxes before remitting payments to landlords, insisting that he therefore does not owe the taxes being claimed by the NRA.
He also questioned the basis of the enforcement action, arguing that any alleged tax liability would relate to the rented premises in Wilberforce and not the offices of his law firm, which are located at 7 Walpole Street, Freetown.
Williams described the NRA’s action as unlawful and procedurally improper, insisting that enforcement measures under tax laws must be directed specifically at the relevant property connected to the alleged liability.
He concluded by stating that he would pursue all available legal remedies to challenge what he termed wrongful enforcement actions, while maintaining that he does not owe the taxes being claimed.
