FIRS Slams FCTA Over Office Sealing, Demands Public Apology

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has strongly criticized the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for what it described as a shameful and unwarranted intrusion into its premises in Abuja.

The condemnation follows an incident in which FCTA officials reportedly entered FIRS facilities over claims related to unpaid ground rent.

The tax agency strongly denounced the action, describing it as unjustified, erroneous, and detrimental to the spirit of inter-governmental collaboration.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the FIRS expressed outrage over the enforcement operation carried out by FCTA officials, during which two FIRS offices, located at No. 12 and No. 14 Sokode Crescent, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, were sealed.

According to the tax authority, this move was based on a mistaken belief that the agency had defaulted on payment of statutory ground rent—a claim FIRS says is factually inaccurate.

The FIRS disclosed that it had fully complied with all financial obligations related to the properties well ahead of the incident. Specifically, the Director of Facility Management at the FIRS, Mr. Tyofa Abeghe, explained that the agency had received a demand notice from the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), an arm of the FCTA, in September 2023. The notice requested payment of accumulated ground rent spanning 25 years (from 2000 to 2024) on the two properties in question.

According to Mr. Abeghe, the FIRS, acting swiftly in good faith, made a total payment of N2,364,003.26 within three months of receiving the notice. This amount, he said, was intended to settle all arrears as outlined by AGIS. However, the transaction was reportedly not followed by the issuance of an official treasury receipt by AGIS—an omission that prompted FIRS to take further steps to rectify the situation.

Abeghe recounted that on February 19, 2024, the FIRS formally communicated with AGIS via a letter requesting confirmation of the payment and the issuance of the required official receipt. The letter, he stated, was acknowledged at the AGIS front desk, yet the agency never provided a response. This silence, according to the FIRS, caused confusion and ultimately led to the flawed enforcement action.

“This action by the FCTA is unjustifiable,” Abeghe declared. “We honoured their demand, made the payment within a reasonable period, and even sent a follow-up letter. Rather than responding or resolving the matter through proper administrative channels, they chose to storm our offices in a manner that is both disruptive and disrespectful.”

Supporting this sentiment, the Special Adviser on Infrastructure to the FIRS, Mr. Kunle Ogidi, characterized the sealing of the offices as a blatant act of administrative negligence. He stated that a simple internal verification by AGIS would have confirmed that the payment had indeed been made and that no arrears were outstanding.

“As a law-abiding federal agency, the FIRS does not owe ground rent on any of its properties within the FCT,” Ogidi insisted. “The properties that were targeted had been paid for, and this information could have been easily verified.”

In a further rebuttal, the Special Adviser on Media and Communication to the FIRS Chairman, Mr. Dare Adekanmbi, questioned the rationale behind the FCTA’s action. He pointed out that the FIRS operates approximately seven offices along Sokode Crescent, all of which are under the same administrative framework.

“Why would we deliberately choose to default on only two properties when we have paid for others on the same street?” Adekanmbi asked rhetorically. “That doesn’t align with logic or with our established practices. The only issue here is the failure of AGIS to acknowledge receipt, not our compliance.”

He stressed that the sealing of FIRS offices on such a premise—without investigating the agency’s prior payment or responding to official correspondence—sets a dangerous precedent and erodes public trust in inter-agency cooperation.

In conclusion, the FIRS is demanding a formal apology from the FCTA, arguing that the incident has caused undue reputational damage, disrupted government operations, and undermined the professional relationship between federal agencies. The FIRS emphasized that rather than resorting to what it called “dramatic and aggressive enforcement tactics,” the FCTA should have exhausted all internal verification processes and dialogue mechanisms.

The incident has sparked wider conversations about transparency, coordination, and accountability in public sector engagements, particularly between agencies with overlapping administrative jurisdictions.