The N50bn tax case between the Rivers State Internal Revenue Service (RIRS) and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) seems to have got messy as contempt proceedings have begun in Port Harcourt to committee members of the interventionist agency to jail
for contempt of court.
The NDDC was accused of unsealing its premises without court order whereas the sealing
was done with court order over N50bn tax demand. The initiation of contempt proceedings
confirmed to BusinessDay by the RIRS executive chairman, Adoage Norteh, is part of Suit No.
OHC23//2019: RSBIR vs NDDC, Prof. Nelson Brambaita, acting managing director, Chris Amadi
(acting executive director finance and administration), Adjogbe Samuel (acting executive director project), and Kaltungo Moljengo, director of legal services. Contempt breaches do not
carry fine but jail sentences.
This may become an issue in a case between a PDP state and the APC-controlled federal agency.
There is already feisty relationship between the Rivers State government and the NDDC, but the executive chairman has always appealed to observers to divorce the tax matter from politics.
Details available to Business- Day indicated that following an application by the Rivers State
Board of Internal Revenue (RSBIR), the High Court of Rivers State has granted the service of
Form 49, order of committal on Brambaifa, the Ag MD; Chris Amadi (acting executive director,
finance and administration); Adjogbe Samuel (acting executive director, project); and Kaltungo
Moljengo (director, legal service), all of NDDC by substituted service over alleged disobedience of the order of the court.
According to the affidavit filed by RSBIR earlier, Form 48, notice of consequence of disobedience
of order of the court had been served on the Acting MD and the other three officials of NDDC and the events that gave rise to the contempt proceeding are as follows.
According to findings, on the 17th of April, 2019, the court ordered that NDDC is indebted to RSBIS to the tune of N50bn being outstanding tax liability owed the Government
of Rivers State by NDDC with respect to PAYE, Withholding Tax and other taxes allegedly unpaid for the period, 2012 to 2017.
The court also ordered the issuance of a warrant authorising RSBIR to seal any land and or
any other property belonging to NDDC in order to recover the said sum of N50bn owed by NDDC, it was gathered. It further ordered NDDC to pay the sum of N20m as cost incidental to the recovery of the amount owed.
On the 23rd of April, 2019, RSBIR executed the order and sealed three property in Port Harcourt belonging to NDDC. On the 24th of same month, NDDC was said to have had a meeting with RSBIR and after the meeting wrote a letter to RSBIR requesting that their property should be unsealed by RSBIR.
Sources said after the said letter meetings were held by NDDC and RSBIR in the course of which
NDDC allegedly agreed to make payment on account as a condition for unsealing their premises
and through their tax consultant and acting MD allegedly offered an amount that was accepted by RSBIR, after which they offered to make payment shortly.
IGNATIUS CHUKWU
