Eight individuals have been apprehended by the Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS) for their involvement in an illegal tax scheme on highways within the state.
News About Nigeria understands that the BIRS task force targeted illegal checkpoints where these individuals were posing as tax collectors, exploiting transporters and businesspeople in Vandeikya and Konshisha Local Government Areas (LGAs).
Transporters and businesspeople, who predominantly engage in trading and transporting agricultural produce from rural communities and local markets to other regions of the country, fell victim to the nefarious activities of these criminal groups.
The recent arrests took place shortly after Mr Emmanuel Agema, the acting Chairman of BIRS, established a task force intending to apprehend those responsible for the illegal operation.
Requesting the support of the Benue State Police Commissioner, Mr Julius Okoro, Agema pledged to collaborate with the police to dismantle these unlawful activities carried out by troublemakers and criminal gangs who persistently harass innocent individuals.
The commissioner emphasized that the syndicate’s actions amounted to unjustified double taxation on individuals conducting business in the state, a practice that must not be allowed to persist.
He further provided the Police Commissioner with a comprehensive list of 16 officially recognized Revenue Inspection/Monitoring Points throughout the state.
These designated points, operated solely by BIRS tax personnel, are easily identifiable through their BIRS reflective jackets, mini offices painted in BIRS colours, and signposts indicating their status as authorized checkpoints.
Agema stressed that any operation conducted outside of these designated points is illegal and individuals found engaging in such activities should be arrested and held accountable under the law.
