Three docked for illegal tax activity in Kogi

Three individuals have been arraigned before Chief Magistrate Court 1 in Lokoja for illegal tax activities in the state.

They were arrested by the Vigilante Group of Lokoja Local Government Area for engaging in illegal tax activities.

The trio—Abba Emmanuel, Umar Abubakar, and Kingsley Dan’sebe—were arraigned on Wednesday before Abdullahi Musa Mopa on charges of criminal conspiracy, causing obstruction of a public highway, and extortion along the Lokoja–Abuja road.

The police prosecutor, G. O. Itowo, stated that on November 13, the vigilante group of Lokoja LGA brought the suspects to the police after catching them impersonating Kogi State Internal Revenue Services.

He said the three suspects had set up a roadblock along the Lokoja–Abuja road to collect illegal revenue.

He requested that the court read the First Information Report to the defendants to enable them to take their plea.

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The three defendants denied the allegations leveled against them.

While the prosecuting counsel moved for a date to commence the hearing, the defense counsel, Muazu Abbas, urged the court to grant bail to the defendants.

Abbas, who based his bail application on Section 36(5) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Constitution and the relevant sections of Kogi’s Criminal Justice Law, argued that the offenses are triable in the magistrate court. “The defendants have been in police custody since November 13, 2024. We urge the court to consider the bail application. The defendants will provide reasonable and reliable sureties to ensure their availability for trial. In the overall interest of justice, the court should grant bail.”

The prosecutor did not oppose the bail application, but cautioned, “I urge the court to proceed with caution and carefully examine the case before considering the bail application.”

After listening to both the defense counsel’s bail application and the prosecutor’s response, the Magistrate granted bail to the three defendants. “Based on the circumstances of this application and the interests of justice, the court grants the bail request.”

“I hereby grant the defendants bail in the sum of N400,000, with a surety each in like sum. The surety must have a traceable address in Lokoja and must not be below the rank of a level 14 officer, either at the federal or state parastatal. The surety must also disclose their BVN and NIN to the court registrar.”

The case was subsequently adjourned to December 11, 2024, for further mention.