The Benue state acting chairman of the Board Internal Revenue Service (BIRS), Emmanuel Agema, has confirmed that hoodlums intercepted two trucks of palliative and manhandled the drivers in the process.

Agema stated that the hoodlums posed as revenue officials at a collection point close to Aliade, Gwer East Local Government Area in Benue state when the unsuspected drivers conveying palliative from Adamawa to the eastern part of the country ran into their ambush.

Addressing members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Benue led by the chairman, Emmanuel Anstwen, Agema said: “The hoodlums stopped the vehicles, broke their windscreen and stole the sum of #200,000 from one of the drivers at the illegal tax collection point.

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He said two persons have been arrested and transferred to the DSS on the governor’s directives that a thorough investigation be carried out to fish out those behind illegal tax collection in the state.

He stated: “Since I assumed duty as acting Chairman of BIRS, my biggest challenge is the activities of illegal tax collectors and so far 35 persons have been charged to court.

“On assumption of duty, we also terminate revenue contract, close revenue leakages about 90 percent, we are now using our staff making us generate more revenue for the state.”