By Felix Ekwu
An attempt by illegal revenue collectors operating at the popular Koko junction in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State to overpower officials of the Delta State Internal Revenue Taskforce saddled with the responsibility of dismantling illegal revenue checkpoints on highways across the state was thwarted by security operatives attached to the task force.
The incident happened today Tuesday as the task force dismantled about twenty of the illegal revenue checkpoints and arrested some of the persons illegally operating them on the stretch of Sapele/Benin road to Koko junction just before the boundary between Delta and Edo States.
Before getting to Koko junction, the vehicle conveying soldiers was ahead of the convoy of the task force which included policemen.
When the illegal revenue collectors operating at the junction initially saw just policemen with the task force they mobilised with wood and other objects to overpower the task force but had to beat a retreat when they later saw the soldiers advancing.
Gunshots could be heard as the security operatives tried to dispel the illegal revenue operators some of whom were exchanging words with the security personnel from a distance.
The Chairman of the Joint Taskforce on Checkment Revenue and Eradication of Illegal Collection in Delta State, Mr Malachi Moye and the Head of Operations, Mr Kenneth Francis, said the operation of the taskforce is a continuous one.
They stated that the money met for the state government is being diverted into the purse of the illegal revenue collectors which is a criminal offence punishable by law.
They explained that the Delta State Internal Revenue Taskforce officials could be identified by their T-Shirt and ID-Card with the inscription “Pay your Tax“ adding that those arrested would be charged to court.
Some of the arrested persons claimed that they were not operating illegally on the road as they have bosses they remit monies to and receive instruction from.
On the part of the motorists plying the road, they commended the effort of the Delta State Government in eradicating the illegal checkpoints on the road.
They lamented that a journey for instance from Warri to Sapele that is supposed to take 30 minutes now takes one hour due to the illegal checkpoints on the road.
Some of the illegal checkpoints dismantled were those operated by the Association of Nigeria Refineries Petroleum Marketers, Petroleum Monitoring Taskforce, Government of Delta State on Oil Surveillance, National Association of Scrap and Waste Management Taskforce and Federal Taskforce on Anti-Pipeline Vandalization.
