FIRS SEALS OFF JIMOH IBRAHIM'S NICON LUXURY HOTEL FOR NON-REMITTANCE OF =N=6.1 BN IN TAXES

The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, enforcement team has sealed up two companies belonging to business mogul, Jimoh Ibrahim due to unpaid tax.

The two companies, NICON Luxury Hotel and NICON Insurance were among others sealed in Lagos, Abuja, Owerri and Kaduna on Thursday.

FIRS Warrant of Distraint revealed that Ibrahim’s NICON Luxury Hotel located in Garki, Area 11, Abuja was sealed off for owing about N392, 623,765.00 in unpaid tax liabilities.

The service claimed the amount was made up of unpaid/unremitted liabilities of the hotel in Company Income Tax, Education Tax, Withholding Tax and Value Added Tax between year 2009 to 2013.

The management team of the hotel, led by Mrs. Ogunlusi Abimbola, initially insisted that the company was not owing government such a huge sum, putting the tax arrears of the company at N24 million out of which she said the company had paid N6 million.

Abimbola, however, agreed upon insistence by the enforcement team that the hotel was aware of the tax liability, but claimed that a tax consultant to company had written the Chairman of FIRS to complain about the liability and that the hotel is already discussing with the Service on how to resolve the matter amicably.

Failure of Abimbola to produce copies of the correspondence between the hotel and FIRS, the team sealed up the hotel saying only the payment of full tax liability will stop the execution of the Distraint Warrant.

The sealing off of the hotel led to the closure of the other offices and three bank branches located within its premises.

Also the team evacuated the premises forcing some members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, holding a stake holders’ meeting in the hotel to park their vehicles outside the premises as the team locked the gates.

From NICON Luxury Hotel, the team moved to NICON Insurance, another company, Ibrahim has stake in.

At NICON Insurance, the enforcement team sealed the third, fourth and ninth floor of the building being used by the company.

FIRS in its Distraint Warrant claimed NICON insurance was owing N182,685, 036 million in unremitted Withholding Tax and VAT from 2008 to 2012.

The team sealed off the third, fourth and ninth floor of the building being used by NICON insurance.