The Akwa Ibom State Government, through its Internal Revenue Service, has sealed three banks for their alleged failure to remit a total of ₦228 million to the state government.
The closure, which occurred on Thursday, October 26, 2023 was part of an enforcement exercise conducted by the revenue board's Enforcement and Recovery Department.
The action followed an Order of Notice of Distrain from the Akwa Ibom State High Court, Eket Judicial Division.
The banks affected by the closure include two branches of Keystone Bank located at Abak Road and Ikot Ekpene Road, Uyo, as well as Heritage Bank situated at Aka Road, Uyo.
Speaking to journalists in Uyo, the Executive Director of Enforcement and Recovery at the revenue board, Leo Umana, revealed that Heritage Bank had failed to remit ₦100,270,910 in tax liabilities to the state, while Keystone Bank owed the state government ₦128,413,882 in unpaid taxes.
Umana sternly stated, "If, after 14 days, they do not comply, we have the mandate of the court to sell the property and recover the tax owed to the state."
He noted that the banks had been issued warning notices but failed to comply despite several months of grace period. The AKIRS had exhausted all reconciliation and negotiation opportunities with the financial institutions before resorting to legal action.
According to Umana, under the law, the banks have a 14-day window to negotiate with AKIRS and clear their outstanding tax liabilities to avoid further legal consequences.