A non-governmental organization, Wadata Media and Advocacy Centre (WAMAC), has exposed alleged fraudulent activities going on in Lokoja International Market, Kogi State.
In a recent investigation carried out by WAMAC, which was aired on a private radio station Grace FM Lokoja Kogi State, the NGO revealed that the market faces challenges of alleged fraudulent revenue collection by officers of the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS) from vehicles conveying food commodities.
The Lokoja International Market, which was built by the state government with all necessary facilities, WAMAC noted has become a business hub for traders within and outside Lokoja due to its strategic location.
It recalled that on July 4, 2024, the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS) Chairman, Sule Salihu Enehe, who was represented by the Director of Personal Income Tax, Emmanuel Yusuf, stated on a live radio program that KGIRS does not collect any revenue from vehicles or shops selling food commodities.
He emphasized that those collecting revenue from drivers are illegal tax collectors and that the government is working to stop this illegality.
However, an investigation by the WAMAC investigative team revealed that vehicles conveying food commodities are not allowed into the market unless they pay tolls, produce, or haulage fees ranging from N3,000 for a small truck to N7,500 for a trailer, contrary to what the KGIRS Director claimed.
The investigation found that the Kogi State Government had engaged a private firm, Perfect-key Multibiz Ventures, headed by one Mustapha as a consultant, to collect revenues in the market.
Agents of the consultant, according to WAMAC investigative team, have been collecting varying levies from drivers, often issuing multiple receipts with inconsistent charges or no receipts at all.
Truck drivers, including Olayemi, Abubakar, and Garba, narrated their experiences of alleged extortion by agents collecting revenues on behalf of KGIRS.
“The extortion in this market is getting out of hand. The people in charge of collecting levies keeps coming up with different approach just to frustrate us. More worrisome is that we don’t know where the money is going. We heard that some cabals are the one sharing the money and is not going to the Government coffers. We are calling on the appropriate authority to save us before things goes out of hand”.
Another driver, Okonkwo recounted paying N7,500 without receiving a receipt.
“Before entering this market last night, the boys at the gate insisted that I pay N7,500 before they will allow me enter. I requested for receipt, they didn’t give me. They told me later.
“After I paid them, they granted me access to the market. As I speak to you, they haven’t given me the receipt and am really worried because I couldn’t find those that collected money from me last night. The people at the market gate now are different from those I saw yesterday night,” he narrated.
Alhaji Yakubu Ibrahim, Vice Chairman of the International Market Traders Association, confirmed these practices to the Wadata investigative team.
“If the government say is not collecting revenue from the traders that is not true, we pay rent, we revenue for tolls, produces, haulage among others, the are to many to mention, even the receipt carried the KGIRS logo on it,” Yakubu said.
It was gathered that the collected money is allegedly going into the private pocket of Mustapha, the Manager in charge of levy collection at the market.
The investigation also revealed that some members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) are allegedly extorting motorists with altered receipt amounts.
Despite the allegations, the State Vice Chairman of NURTW, Mallam Ibrahim Danladi, refuted claims of manipulation.
“What you saw there was not fraud, what happened was that, before our boys collect money any how, they can issued you receipt of N400 and an asked you to pay N2,000, but now the N1,000 is what they will collect, N400 goes to the national while the remaining N600 go to state and local branch for operations”
Traders who spoke to WAMAC investigative team expressed concerns about the engagement of multiple consultants by the government, complicating the revenue collection process.
“We see different corner corner consultants coming to us to collect revenue, some says for infrastructure maintenance, others with different names of revenue collection and they are all coming from KGIRS”
Attempts to get a response from KGIRS on the alleged fraud were unsuccessful.
Chairperson of Kogi NGO Network (KONGONET), Ambassador Idris Ozovehe Muraina, called on KGIRS to clarify its terms of engagement with the consultant and ensure that collected revenues are properly remitted.
“For me, the first point of call is to clarify issues from the internal revenue service because they are the one that has engaged this consultant to give us a better idea of what engagement directive are”.
He added that it is the responsibility of the local government, not the state, to collect market revenues.
“When you say market, am beginning to get concerned about what is the concern of the State Government with market. Am not sure if the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers the Kogi State Internal Revenue to take taxes from market. I think they also need to clarify the means by engaging consultants to collect tax from the market. This would have been the job of the Local Government authorities and not the State Government” he added.
The situation raises questions about potential hidden information regarding the market and the consultant’s operations.
According to WAMAC, known for kicking against all form of corrupt practice in Nigeria, the following statistics highlight the scale of the alleged fraud:
100 trailers paying N7,500 each per day = N750,000. Multiplied by 30 days = N22,500,000 (N22.5 million)
100 trucks paying N5,000 each per day = N500,000. Multiplied by 30 days = N15,000,000 (N15 million)
1,000 cars paying N100 each per day = N100,000. Multiplied by 30 days = N3,000,000
Total monthly revenue from the market could reach N40.5 million.
If this amount is being generated and misappropriated while drivers and traders struggled, it indicates a significant issue within the system.
