Kano Court Gives FirstBank, Ecobank, Unity Bank 2-Week Ultimatum To Settle Tax Or Face Closure

A mobile court in Kano has given a two-week ultimatum to FirstBank, Ecobank and Unity Bank to settle with the Kano State government, the outstanding trade registration fees or face closure.

The mobile court presided over by Senior Magistrate, Ibrahim Gwadabe, convicted the three banks for failure to pay Trade Registration Fees to the state government through the Ministry of Commerce Industry Cooperative and Solid Minerals.

The offence, according to the judge, contravenes Sections 8 and 9 and is punishable under Section 14 of the Kano State Trade Registration Law 2014.

The information officer of the ministry, Sa’adatu Sulaiman, said the judge, however, ordered the three banks to settle the outstanding fees within two weeks or face closure from their activities until they settled the bills.

Recall that last year, the Kano State Internal Revenue Services (KIRS) sealed five branches of Guaranty Trust Bank in Kano over failure to pay taxes to the state government.