5 Ondo civil servants arrested, paraded for alleged N200m tax fraud

Five top ranking civil servants in Ondo State have been suspended and handed over to the police for alleged N200 million tax fraud. The five civil servants, who were paraded before newsmen at the state police command headquarters in Akure yesterday, are Mrs Oluwatoyin Abiodun, Ojo Ayodeji, David Omoyajowo, Isaac Solomon and Femi Tuki. The […]

Five top ranking civil servants in Ondo State have been suspended and handed over to the police for alleged N200 million tax fraud.

The five civil servants, who were paraded before newsmen at the state police command headquarters in Akure yesterday, are Mrs Oluwatoyin Abiodun, Ojo Ayodeji, David Omoyajowo, Isaac Solomon and Femi Tuki.

The civil servants were said to have diverted funds meant for the coffers of the state government into their pockets.

The Ondo State police command spokesman, Femi Joseph, told journalists that the suspects were allegedly issuing fake tax clearance, certificate of roadworthiness and fake driver’s licence.

Joseph said they would be charged to court as soon as investigation to the matter was concluded.

An alleged accomplice, Mr Ayadi Orimisan, whom the police said assisted the suspect to defraud the state government, was also paraded along with the civil servants.

The Special Adviser on Special Duties to the Ondo State governor, Dr Doyin Odebowale, said an interim report revealed that the state government had been defrauded to the tune of N200 million, which was the reason why the civil servants were handed over to the police.

However, one of the suspects, Mrs Abiodun, who disclosed that she and her fellow suspects had been suspended by the state Civil Service Commission, denied the allegation.

Abiodun maintained that the government lied against them as all the monies they made in their various agencies and ministries passed through the state coffers.

She lamented that after they were suspended and investigated according to Civil Service rules, the police still paraded them as criminals.

Orimisan, however, admitted some people did contact him to help them divert money meant for the state government.