Breaking: None of our senior staff arrested for tax fraud- FIRS
The Federal Inland Revenu Service FIRS has denied media report that nine of its senior staff have been arrested in connection with the diversion of N6billion tax fund.
One of the National Dailies had reported that nine senior officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) are currently in detention over alleged multi-billion naira fraud.
The officials, who are being detained by the anti-graft agency (EFCC) in Abuja, include the Director of Finance and Accounts (DFA) of the FIRS, Mohammed Auta.
Apart from Mr Auta, another director of the agency, Peter Hena, is also alleged to be involved in the scandal.
Mr Hena, the Coordinating Director, Support Services Group of the FIRS, is currently out of Nigeria and will be arrested as soon as he returns to the country, EFCC said.
A top official of the FIRS, however, said Mr Hena is on official medical leave outside the country and did not flee.
Mr Hena is believed to be one of the closest officials to the FIRS chairman, Babatunde Fowler.
Details of the scandal are still sketchy as at the time of this report. However, Messrs Auta and Hena are being investigated for allegedly diverting about N6 billion tax funds that should have gone to the Nigerian government, anti-corruption officials said.
Our reporter learnt that most of the other affected officials are from the finance and account department of the FIRS.
All the officials have been in the EFCC detention since April 1.
The EFCC is closing in on several other senior officials of the revenue collection service in a widening investigation to uncover other fraudulent activities involving several billions of government tax revenues, according to premium Times.
When contacted on the detention, the EFCC spokesperson, Orilade Tony, said he had not been briefed on the matter. He said any such detention would be at the EFCC office in Wuse 2, Abuja. He asked to be given more time to get more details on the detention.
The FIRS is saddled with collecting taxes and revenues of the federal government.
The agency under Mr Fowler has seen its revenue generation improve, setting new records. The agency said it collected about N5.32 trillion as revenue in 2018, the highest in Nigeria’s history.
In a swift reaction, Head, Communications and Servicom Department
Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Wahab Gbadamosi in a telephone chat with Daily Dispatch said there was no iota of truth in the report, adding that it was an old story that was rejig.
According to Gbadamosi, one of the said official, Hena’s tenure expired since August and has left.
“As I am talking to you our Director of Finance, Mohammed Auta is in office, I am in office, so if there’s anything like that I should know. This purely harm chair journalism, Gbadamosi declared.
