Niger State Internal Revenue Service (NGSIRS) has apprehended members of a syndicate specialising in defrauding the state government.
The group includes a revenue officer from Bosso Local Government Council and private individuals engaged in the production and sale of counterfeit motor vehicle badges and emblems to unsuspecting members of the public.
In a statement released in Minna, the Niger State capital, on Saturday, the NGSIRS said that their actions violated the provisions outlined in the Niger State Tax Administration and Consolidation Law (2022).
The service cautioned all individuals or groups involved in unlawfully collecting revenue or creating counterfeit government documents and items to cease their activities immediately, warning of legal consequences for those apprehended.
“Printing and sale of licences, permits, emblems and stickers, receipts and number plates are statutory functions not delegated to private individuals.
“Some members of these syndicates have been arrested and they include private individuals and government officials and they are set to be prosecuted,’’ it stated.
The NGSIRS stressed its unwavering commitment to identifying, pursuing, and prosecuting all parties engaged in such reprehensible economic sabotage against the government and the people of Niger.
The agency reaffirmed its dedication to fulfilling its mandated duty of achieving maximum revenue generation by plugging all revenue leakages and pursuing perpetrators of revenue-related sabotage. (NAN)