Emmanuel Kehinde, Ilorin
A High court in Kwara State presided over by Justice E.B. Mohammed has ordered the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service to pay Mazars Consulting N104,908,939.57 for recovery of professional fees, remuneration and or commission.
The claimants, which are Mr. Adeyemi Sanni Sheriff, Mrs. Adedoyin Sanni and Mr. Bamidele Ogunlowo under Mazars Consulting, had approached the court and sought some releifs.
The reliefs include: Payment of N104,908,939,57 (One Hundred and Four Million, Nine Hundred and Eight Thousand, Nine Hundred and Thirty Nine Naira, Fifty Seven Kobo) being the sum due as commissions for services rendered to the defendants by the claimants.
The consulting firm also demanded the payment of N464,856,418.86 being the sum due as commission for services rendered to the defendants by the cliaimants.
In all , Mazars consulting prayed for the payment of N569,765,358.43 (Five Hundred and Sixty Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Sixty Five Thousand, Three Hundred and Fifty Eight Naira, Forty Three Kobo) representing unpaid commission said to be legitimately due to and or owed to the firm by the defendant (KWIRS) for servicess Mazars Consulting rendered to KWIRS.
The firm had claimed that the KWIRS had failed to pay them the agreed commission and or remuneration in respect of professional seervices they rendered. Mazars Consulting also told the court that it had engaged services in tax collection, tax audit, tax consulting and tax advisory services which was assigned to them by the Kwara State Public Private Partnership office (KP3) on behalf of the KWIRS.
Delivering ruling, a copy of which was made available to journalists on Sunday, the judge orderd KWIRS to pay to Mazars Consulting the first relief sought for.
He said, “I find and hold that having admitted the first leg of the claimants’ claim, the defendant has no defense to this leg of the action. On the whole, judgement be and is hereby entered for claimants in terms of the first eg of their claim in the sum of N104,908,939.57 against the defendant.(Four Hundred and Sixty Four Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, Four Hundred and Eighteen Naira, Eighty Six Kobo)
On the second claim of N464,856,418.86 (Four Hundred and Sixty Four Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, Four Hundred and Eighteen Naira, Eighty Six Kobo), the judge granted the KWIRS leave to defend it.
He said, “The defendants is hereby granted leave to defend the second leg of the claimants’s claim.
“Accordingly, the defendant is hereby granted leave to defend the second eg of the claimant’s claim for the sum of N464,856,418.86.
*Consequently, pleadings are hereby ordered 14 days by 14 days and 7 days for a reply/counter-claim, if any.”