First Bank of Nigeria Plc has reopened all its branches in Kogi state after five weeks of closure due to alleged evasion of tax to the tune of N411.12m.
Recall that a High Court sitting in Lokoja had ordered the seal-off of branches of the bank in the state over the bank’s alleged failure to remit N411.12m to the coffer of the state government.
In response to the court order, Kogi State government on September 13, 2022, sealed-off branches of First Bank in the state.
Having been closed for five weeks, many customers of the bank on Monday were seen transacting in the branches of the bank in Lokoja.
A customer, Musibau Ahmed, narrated the bitter experience during the closure, saying some of them had to go outside the state, some as far as Abuja for transaction.
The Acting Executive Chairman, Kogi State Internal Revenue Service,KGIRS, Alhaji Sule Salihu Enehe, confirmed the reopening of the bank in the state.
He said the development was due to the fact that the bank had settled “some percentage” of the tax.
Enehe added that efforts were being intensified to ensure that the bank pay up all the taxes, stressing that reconciliation process had commenced.
An attempt to speak to First Bank over the issue was rebuffed by the security men at the gate of the bank in Lokoja.
