Suspected militants on Wednesday attacked officials of the Federal
Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) at a hotel, Aridolf Resort Wellness &
Spa, owned by Patience Jonathan in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
The FIRS team went to the hotel in respect of tax liabilities totaling
N10,117,500, but were chased by the hoodlums suspected to be loyal to
Dame Patience.
According to reports, the FIRS team arrived Aridolf, demanded to see the most senior staff of the hotel but without success.
The team, however, read the warrant of distraint to the hotel officials
at the reception, as militants, believed to have lodged in the hotel,
came out and threatened to kill the officials, claiming that the
enforcement exercise was illegal.
“We demanded that they should phone the manager to inform him of the
team’s presence and mission, but they ignored the demand,” a FIRS
official said.
“The FIRS team read the warrant of distraint to them. After over 30
minutes of argument, militants believed to have lodged in the hotel came
out and threatened to kill FIRS officials, claiming that the
enforcement exercise was illegal.
“When one of the directors of the hotel, Mr. Victor, arrived the scene,
we showed him the warrant of distraint and told him that the hotel owed
three months VAT.”
The official said a man, who identified himself as Chief Anthony,
arrived and threatened that some of FIRS officials would be shot. He
said the warrant was not properly signed since it did not carry the seal
of the agency’s chairman, Babatunde Fowler.
“He claimed that the visit was a plot to ridicule Mrs. Jonathan, and
that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, sent FIRS
officials to plant cash in the premises.”
“Anthony ordered the militants not to allow them leave the premises until ‘Mummy’ comes.
“He ordered them to arrest the team leader and some other officials. The
armed militants forced the FIRS officials to remove the seal already
placed at entrance of the hotel’s salon and gym as well as to unlock the
hotel entrance.”
The Eagle Online reports that the
militants forced the team leader, a newspaper reporter and an NTA camera
man that accompanied the team into a room, where they were beaten up.
Their phones were also seized and images on them deleted. They also deleted items stored in the camer