FCMB, Keystone, Zenith Banks, others closed down over ₦1.7 billion debt
Story by Victor Itodo ABUH
The Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS) has sealed off several banks and business premises, including Hamdala Hotel, over unpaid Land Use Charge (LUC) debts totalling ₦1.7 billion.
According to KADIRS, Hamdala Hotel alone owes ₦115 million.
The affected establishments include Keystone Bank Plc, Unity Bank, FCMB, Zenith Bank, Bank of Agriculture, Chicken Republic, Forte Oil, New Nigeria Development Company, GT Bank’s parking lot, and A.G. Leventis building.
Aysha Ahmad, the board secretary and legal adviser of KADIRS, said the enforcement exercise is backed by law. “The enforcement was in the exercise of powers vested in KADIRS by Section 104 of the Personal Income Tax Act,” she explained.
Read also: EFCC arrests CEOs of Zenith, Providus, Jaiz Banks for alleged fraud
“It is also supported by Section 24 Sub-Sections (1, 2, and 3) of the Kaduna State Tax Codification and Consolidation Law, 2020, as amended.
Ms. Ahmad revealed that the debts were established by the Kaduna State Geographic Information Service (KADGIS), which had issued demand notices to the defaulters. Despite this, there was no compliance.
“So, we have to resort to enforcement to collect what is due for the state,” she stated, adding that the court had issued an order to seal off the properties until all outstanding liabilities are settled.
The exercise, scheduled to last a week, aims to ensure compliance across major cities in Kaduna State.
Ms Ahmad urged taxpayers to fulfil their obligations voluntarily, emphasising that KADIRS will continue the enforcement campaign until all debts are recovered.
Financial fraud investigation
Earlier in January, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Zenith, Providus, and Jaiz banks—Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, Haruna Musa, and Walter Akpani regarding an investigation of an embezzlement scheme allegedly linked to former and suspended Ministers of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar-Farouq and Betta Edu.
Sources disclosed that the banking executives were taken into custody by the antigraft agency for allegedly facilitating the improper diversion of public funds into private accounts.
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