Polaris Bank has filed an application before the Niger State High Court seeking to dismiss a criminal charge brought against its Managing Director (MD) by the Niger State Internal Revenue Service (NIRS).
The charge accused the bank of failing to provide information about customers applying for foreign exchange, in violation of the Personal Income Tax Act.
The bank, through its counsel, Usman Sule (SAN), raised a preliminary objection to the court's jurisdiction, arguing that the case remains an abuse of judicial process.
According to Polaris Bank, the subject of the charge is already under litigation at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a case involving 21 banks and 16 states of the federation (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/120/2023).
The bank contended that allowing the Minna case to proceed could render the Federal High Court’s eventual judgment ineffective.
It would be recalled that the NIRS had initiated the criminal charge against Polaris Bank and its MD, Omokayode Lawal, in the case designated NSHC/MN/18/24.
The allegations had to do with the bank's purported failure to request tax clearance certificates from customers seeking foreign exchange transactions between January 2022 and December 2023.
This, according to the agency, contravened Section 85 of the Personal Income Tax Act.
The court, presided over by Justice Maimuna Abubakar, had earlier issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the bank's branch manager in Minna.
While this warrant was vacated, the warrant for the Managing Director remains in effect.
Polaris Bank argued that the charge is unwarranted, asserting that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rather than state revenue agencies.
Additionally, the bank noted that the Attorney General of Niger State, who represents the NIRS in this case, is already a party in the ongoing Federal High Court case.
In its affidavit, Polaris Bank contended that the criminal charge pertains to issues already under adjudication in the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The financial institution which argued that the Niger State High Court lacks jurisdiction due to the pending Federal High Court case, asserted that the charge constitutes an abuse of judicial process aimed at undermining the Abuja case.
The bank claimed that the originating process was not personally served on the MD. Justice Abubakar adjourned the case to a date yet to be communicated to all parties.
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