The Anambra Internal Revenue Service has arrested four individuals for allegedly engaging in illegal revenue collection from tricycle operators in Onitsha.
The suspects — Ikenna Udoji, Kosi Iwobi, Chidera Ogbogu and Monday — were apprehended opposite the Army Gate while collecting amounts ranging from N1,000 to N1,200 from commercial tricycle riders.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, the Special Squad Commander of the AIRS, Nathan Obikwelu, said the suspects have been charged to court for violating Anambra State laws prohibiting unauthorised revenue collection from transport operators.
Obikwelu said the arrests were in line with Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s directive to end illegal cash collections across the state.
According to him, the suspects were picked up during a coordinated operation following intelligence reports that they had been extorting residents, transport operators and investors along the Ogbaru and Head Bridge corridors under the guise of collecting levies.
“The agency recorded another major breakthrough with the arrest of four notorious illegal collectors operating across Ogbaru and the Head Bridge axis,” Obikwelu said.
He added that the AIRS would continue to clamp down on individuals or groups engaged in illegal revenue collection to protect citizens and investors in the state.
Recall that on January 20, the state government, through the Special Anti-Touting Squad, arrested six other illegal revenue collectors around the River Niger bridges and communities in Ogbaru Local Government Area following similar complaints from residents.
The Managing Director of the Special Anti-Touting Squad, Monday Nwokoye, said the arrests were based on tip-offs and intelligence reports, stressing that the government would not tolerate any form of extortion or illegal levies in Anambra State.
