Imported User:
Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger has ordered investigations into a N42 million fraud allegedly perpetrated by staff of the State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) with a bank in the state.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Mu’azu Bawa, made this known in Minna on Monday.
Bawa said that three staff of the board had been suspended to give room for full investigation.
According to him, the Head of Service has been directed to constitute a committee that will investigate the alleged fraud and ensure that the culprits feel the full weight of the law.
He alleged that the fraud was perpetrated in connivance with one of the commercial banks in the state.
He said the signatures of the commissioner for finance and the Accountant General were forged to open a ``fake account. ’’
Bawa said the State Government would not lose a penny from the money withdrawn from the fake account, pointing out that the bank would be held liable.
He recalled that three years ago, a fraud of N58 million took place in same BIR, stressing that eight staff of the board and a bank manger found culpable were dismissed.
The commissioner said the bank not only re-paid the money but also apologised for the bank's staff misdemeanour.
Bawa said that the government would pursue the matter and reclaim its money, adding that all State Government accounts in the bank would be closed.
