The Management of Providence High School, Enugu on Sunday threatened to drag the state government to court for locking up her students for three days for alleged non-payment of income tax from 2011 to 2016, a claim it denied.

It described as condemnable and share wickedness for a state institution to invade a school in the night and sealed off all the gates to the school compound that had 370 students and staff when it had paid PAYE tax up to 2018, “this show the authority doesn’t have records”.

The State Internal Revenue Service (ESiRS), had on early hours of Friday morning sealed off all the entrances to the school that was gathered had 345 female students in boarding, leading to a stampede where some students were allegedly injured.

The Vice Principal, Administration, Mrs. Pauline Aforenyi, who briefed journalists on the invasion of the school on Sunday, with receipts evidence of payment of PAYE tax up to 2018 to the revenue board, described the government action as ‘terrorist act’.

Aforenyi said the school was not in any way owing the state, any tax payment, “the school remitted all its PAYE to the Board and was issued receipts for the payments from 2011 to 2018. In 2011 we paid N299,257 to the board and was issued receipt no 0547827 dated October 10, 2011; in 2012 we paid 136,214 and was issued receipt no 0646379 dated October 11, 2012; in 2013 we paid N103,718 to the board and was issued a receipt no 0646488, dated October 7, 2013;

“In 2014 we paid N117,239 to the board; in 2015 a total of 91,584 was remitted to the board; in 2016, we remitted a total of N115,584 and receipt 0680511 was issued; in 2017 a total of N110,142 was remitted and 2018, we paid N110,145 and receipt no 0571754 was issued to that effect. This school is not owning any PAYE to the Board.”

She said it is baffling that revenue board on Friday, December 6, 2019 locked our school gates from outside, “for the purported reason that the school is owing the board, Seven million naira of pay as you earn tax.”

“Our school is the only one sealed by the Board, showing that there is more to their action. We consider the action of locking up of the over 370 persons living inside the Providence High School Premises, as a terrorist act,” she said.

Meanwhile, Director, Providence High School, Mrs Elizabeth U. Onwuagha in a letter to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, titled ‘act of terrorism carried out by the Enugu board of internal revenue, against the staff and students of providence high school, Enugu, on Friday, 6th December 2019,’ has demanded that the school gates should be unlocked.

“It is an international truism that the life of one child is much more important than millions of Naira/dollars. One can safely seal a shop, a factory, among others but it is a crime, anywhere in the world, to seal a school with children in attendance, as is happening in PHS, Enugu, now. The students have been locked in for two days.”

Meanwhile, the chairman of the state revenue board, Emeka Odo, has said that they are willing to reconcile with the school if they have paid.

Odo who was reacting to the allegation of the school, said “normally if we distrain a taxpayer, the normal excuse is don’t worry I have paid but the process that ends to the distrainment is a very serious process, is a very well-led out process.

“If we give you demand notices, you’re supposed to react to those demand notices if you not, we send you a reminder, and then we now send you an intention to sue before we now go to the state high court and get orders to distrian you. So those who are saying they have paid yes we are willing to reconcile account with them.

“If they have evidence they have paid, they should bring it forward we are willing to entertain that. We prefer people paying voluntarily without having to distrain but we are left with no choice but to distrain when for over 11 months people were giving demand notices and they refused to pay,” he said.