First Bank Branches Sealed Off In Kogi

Due to the inability of First Bank Nigeria PLC, to liquidate its outstanding tax liabilities of over N411.12 million to the Kogi Government, all branches operating in the state have been sealed off.

This was in line with the order of a Kogi High Court sitting in Lokoja.

Speaking to journalists on the development  Barrister Saidu Okino, Director, Legal Services of the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS) said the amount represents outstanding withholding tax from the bank’s mobile banking agents from 2015 to 2022.

He said that the action of the board was a result of the refusal of the bank to liquidate the liability despite several demand notices to that effect.

Okino said that approaching the court was a last resort as all other measures to make the bank pay up proved abortive.

”Before we went to court, there was a Demand Notice to that effect dated 12th day of October 2021, and signed by the then acting chairman, Abubakar Yusuf.

“We made several attempts. We sent them a notice of the intention of the service to take a warrant of distrain so that we can do whatever is needful, on the 25th day of February 2022, but we were ignored.

“On the 25th of August, 2022, Notice of Refusal to amend their liability was served on them. We did not on our own roll out our machinery to go and seal,”he said:

Efforts by our correspondent to get comments from the officials of the bank proved abortive as none of them was available during a visit to the offices of the bank at the Post office and Ganaja junction, Lokoja.

Some of the customers of the bank who spoke with our correspondent on the issue expressed concern that they could not transact business with the bank beyond withdrawing money via ATM.

They stressed the need for the two parties to reach an amicable resolution for the bank to resume business.