BREAKING: Abia State Authorities Seals Globacom Workplaces Over ₦4bn Tax Debt
The Abia State Authorities has taken a decisive step towards telecommunications large Globacom Restricted, sealing its operational workplaces in Umuahia and Aba.
This transfer follows the corporate’s alleged failure to remit over ₦4 billion in excellent tax liabilities to the state’s coffers.
The enforcement train was carried out by the Abia State Board of Inside Income Service (ABIRS) on Thursday. The company acted on the power of a sound order issued by the Excessive Court docket of Abia State, Umuahia Judicial Division, which licensed the distraint of the corporate’s premises.
The Deputy Director of Info for ABIRS, Mrs. Emelle Akunna Loveth, confirmed the event in an announcement, noting that the motion was the fruits of a authorized battle tracked underneath Court docket Go well with No. HU/225M/2025.
The courtroom had beforehand dominated on January 14, 2026, directing Globacom to settle a complete sum of ₦4,048,748,880. This determine represents unremitted Proper of Means (RoW) withholding taxes and different statutory levies spanning a 12-year interval from 2010 to 2022.
Past the principal sum, the courtroom additionally mandated the telecommunications agency to pay a ten p.c annual curiosity on the debt. This curiosity began accruing from the unique due dates of the taxes and can proceed till the complete legal responsibility is liquidated.
Beneath the Abia State Tax (Codification and Consolidation) Regulation, 2020, the income board has been empowered to transcend simply sealing the workplaces. The courtroom order permits ABIRS to grab “items, chattels, and premises” belonging to Globacom inside the state.
Mrs. Loveth defined that the federal government is ready to comply with the legislation to its logical conclusion.
“The sealing of the workplaces was a lawful measure strictly in compliance with the courtroom order,” she said.
She additional warned that if the debt stays unpaid after 14 days, the state reserves the appropriate to promote the distrained properties to recuperate the ₦4 billion debt.
Nevertheless, the Abia State Authorities, by means of ABIRS, emphasised that the state is open to dialogue however solely after Globacom reveals full compliance with the courtroom’s directives. The company reiterated that Governor Alex Otti’s administration stays dedicated to the rule of legislation and can guarantee all company residents fulfill their fiscal duties.