Tax Ombud: Key Reform Pillar Of Tinubu’s Administration – Information Minister, Mohammed Idris

The Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has described the Office of the Tax Ombud as a major institutional reform initiative of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability in Nigeria’s tax system.

The Minister stated this during a courtesy visit on Tuesday with the leadership of the Office of the Tax Ombud and heads of agencies under the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation in Abuja.

According to the Minister, the Office of the Tax Ombud represents the Federal Government’s commitment to building trust between taxpayers and tax authorities through mediation, fairness, and public accountability. “Tax administration is a very essential component of national development. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu established the Office of the Tax Ombud to ensure fairness, equity, and justice in the administration of taxes in Nigeria,” the Minister said.

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He noted that the Ministry convened the meeting to strengthen collaboration and raise public awareness of the Tax Ombud’s role. “We need to bring awareness to Nigerians about what the Office of the Tax Ombud is supposed to do and the contribution it will make towards national development. That is why we brought together the heads of our key agencies to support this public enlightenment effort,” he stated.

The Minister explained that misconceptions about tax reforms initially led to resistance because many critics did not fully understand the policies. “When the tax reform initiative was introduced, there was a lot of misunderstanding, misrepresentation, and even outright mischief because many people criticising the reforms had not even seen the documents. That is why public enlightenment is very important,” he said.

Speaking on the broader economic reforms of the Tinubu administration, the Minister said the removal of fuel subsidy and foreign exchange reforms had already begun yielding measurable results across the country.

“When President Tinubu took office, many states struggled to pay salaries, and infrastructure investment was almost at a standstill. Today, states have more resources to meet obligations, invest in development, and support their people because of these reforms,” he said.

The Minister also highlighted improvements in investor confidence and Nigeria’s international economic standing under the current administration. “For the first time in over 13 years, Nigeria’s foreign reserves have crossed the 50 billion dollar mark.

International rating agencies are now looking at Nigeria positively, investors are returning, and the country has been removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list. These are clear signs that the reforms are working,” he added.

He assured the Office of the Tax Ombud of the Ministry’s full support through its agencies, including the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Voice of Nigeria (VON), and the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

“As a Ministry, our duty is to connect government policies with Nigerians so they can understand the benefits of those policies. We will continue to work with the Office of the Tax Ombud to ensure Nigerians understand its mandate and how it protects both taxpayers and government institutions,” the Minister said.

Earlier, the Chief Executive of the Office of the Tax Ombud, Dr John .C. Nwabueze, said the office was established to strengthen fairness, accountability, and transparency within Nigeria’s tax administration system.

“The Office of the Tax Ombud serves as an independent mechanism for resolving taxpayers’ complaints, protecting taxpayers’ rights, and promoting trust between tax authorities and citizens.

We believe taxpayer education and public enlightenment are essential to improving voluntary tax compliance and strengthening confidence in government institutions,” he said.

Dr Nwabueze said the office was seeking to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation to drive sustained public awareness campaigns across traditional media, digital platforms, and community outreach programmes.

Mohammed Idris

He added that the office’s work aligns closely with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in institutional reforms, economic governance, accountability, and improved service delivery.

Those present at the meeting included the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu; Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos; Director General of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ali Muhammad Ali; Director-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr. Mohammed Bulama; Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Jibrin Baba Ndace, and other senior government officials.

Rabiu Ibrahim
Special Assistant (Media) to the Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation. Tueasday, May 19, 2026

Alleged N76bn, $31.5m Fraud: Court Adjourns Trial of Ex-AMCON MD, Ahmed Kuru, Others Till June 25

Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, adjourned further hearing in the alleged N76 billion and $31.5 million fraud trial involving a former Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru, and others till June 25, 2026.

Kuru, alongside Kamilu Alaba Omokide, Roy Ilegbodu, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and Super Bravo Limited, is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and abuse of office.

One of the counts reads:

“That you, Union Bank Nigeria Plc, sometime in 2011 or thereabouts, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with the intention of causing and/or inducing the unwarranted sale of Arik Air loans and bank guarantees with Union Bank, made false statements to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) regarding Arik Air Limited’s performing loans, following which you transferred a bogus figure of N71,000,000,000.00 (Seventy-One Billion Naira) to AMCON.”

Another count reads:

“That you, Ahmed Lawal Kuru, Kamilu Alaba Omokide, as Receiver Manager of Arik Air Limited, and Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Chief Executive Officer of Arik Air Limited in Receivership, sometime in 2022 or thereabouts, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently converted to the use of NG Eagle Limited the sum of N4,900,000,000.00 (Four Billion, Nine Hundred Million Naira), property of Arik Air Limited.”

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During cross-examination by counsel to the first and third defendants, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, at Tuesday’s proceedings, the fourth prosecution witness, PW4, Usman Bawa Kaltungo, stated that AMCON only purchases secured non-performing loans from banks and not all categories of debts.

The prosecution team, led by Wahab Shittu, SAN, also opposed the admissibility of certain letters allegedly written by the first and third defendants to the EFCC on the grounds that the documents were photocopies and had not been certified.

“It is a photocopy. On that basis, it is inadmissible; it lacks certification. If they intend to rely on them, then they should have certified them,” the prosecution argued.

Responding, Osipitan urged the court to reserve the objection until the stage of final written addresses.

In her ruling, Justice Dada held that since the original copies were with the EFCC and had been identified by the witness, they should be produced in court whenever necessary.

The court consequently directed that the original copies be produced on the next adjourned date, while the documents were admitted and marked as Exhibit P53.

At the prompting of the defence counsel, the witness read portions of the letter from AMCON to the EFCC seeking intervention to avert the arraignment of some AMCON officials.

According to the witness, the letter stated that all actions taken by AMCON and the receiver managers were decisions of the corporation’s Board of Directors arising from official meetings.

When asked whether he had seen any reply from the EFCC acknowledging that the first and third defendants acted in their official capacities, the witness replied: “That is their opinion. To the best of my knowledge, that letter was addressed to the Chairman. It is not all correspondences that the EFCC replies to. I neither saw nor knew of any reply.”

Asked whether AMCON as an institution was charged in the matter, the witness responded in the negative.

On whether any funds were traced to the personal accounts of the first and third defendants as proceeds of the alleged fraud, the witness said: “None.”

While referring the witness to Exhibit P17, a petition written by Falana Falana’s Chambers, the defence counsel asked whether Arik Air was already in receivership when the petition was written.

The witness responded that the petition, dated April 27, 2022, was written after Arik Air had gone into receivership, adding that the shareholders authorised Falana & Falana to act on behalf of the airline.

Asked whether he had documents showing that the Nigerian debts in question were being serviced as and when due, the witness answered in the affirmative and tendered documents in support, adding that no bank had presented any contrary evidence.

The defence subsequently tendered a judgment of the Federal High Court earlier shown to the witness.

The document was admitted and marked as Exhibit P54.

When asked to identify the plaintiffs in Exhibit P54, the witness named Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide and Mary Arumemi-Ikhide as shareholders.

Asked whether AMCON had petitioned the EFCC against Arik before the petition by Falana & Falana’s Chambers, the witness stated that he could not confirm what he had not seen unless it was shown to him.

During proceedings, the defence also asked whether the witness was aware that Arumemi- Ikhide had, in another matter, alleged that the EFCC compelled him under duress to make statements.
The witness answered in the negative.
At that point, the defence tendered court processes filed in 2025, which were admitted and marked as Exhibit P55.

After reading the exhibit, defence counsel insisted that Arumemi-Ikhide signed the documents under duress.

However, the witness maintained that he personally obtained his statement from start to finish and that there was nowhere in the statement where such an allegation was made.

“His statements are before the court. I do not know what he may have said elsewhere,” he said.

When the defence drew the witness’ attention to the fact that NG Eagle Limited had not been discharged from the offence alleged in count two of the charges, the witness explained that it was because the airline had not been sold.

“The N4.9 billion was expended based on the breakdown provided to the Commission by the Chief Finance Officer of Arik Air Receivership on how the money was utilised in establishing NG Eagle,” he stated.

When confronted with the suggestion that his testimony was based solely on hearsay, the witness disagreed.

“My evidence is informed not only by statements made but also by findings from investigations,” he said.

Asked into whose account the money was transferred, the witness stated:” We interviewed the person who bought it, and they confirmed that payment was made to AMCON.”

On whether he was aware that one of the shareholders was merely a nominee shareholder, the witness replied that the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, documents described the individual simply as a shareholder.

During further cross-examination, Osipitan argued that the N4.9 billion belonged to Arik Air and not to Arumemi- Ikhide, a shareholder, as allegedly suggested in the charge.

The witness, however, maintained that the funds were revenue generated from Arik Air’s operations while in receivership and ought to have been applied toward servicing the airline’s loan obligations.

“In Count Three, the money was converted to the use of Magashi Ali Mohammed , but his statement was not taken,” the witness added.

He explained that efforts were made to contact Mohammed, who was said to be outside the country, and that he eventually responded via email.

According to the witness, Mohammed stated in the email that the funds were meant for a trip to the Bahamas, although no documentary evidence was produced to support the claim.

Asked whether the information formed part of the investigation report, the witness answered in the affirmative.

When shown the investigation report in evidence, the witness read portions of pages 15 and 16, but acknowledged that the email itself had not been tendered before the court.

Court

The witness also confirmed awareness of Arik Air’s Technical Advisory Committee headed by Dr. Harold Demuren, of which Mohammed was allegedly a member.

While the defence insisted that the Bahamas trip was official, the witness maintained that no supporting documents or correspondence were provided to investigators.

“For any official trip, there must be documents and correspondences authorising it. These were requested but not provided,” he said.

The witness added that the Chief Finance Officer was invited and asked to produce relevant correspondence, but failed to do so. Thereafter, the defence tendered documents seeking approval for a trip as internal memoranda.

Shittu objected to their admissibility, arguing that the documents were electronically generated and uncertified.

However, counsel to the first and third defendants countered that the documents were signed internal memoranda and not electronically generated records.

Justice Dada subsequently admitted the documents and marked them as Exhibits P56 to P59.

Asked what benefit Kamilu Alaba Omokide derived from the transaction, the witness said one share was allocated to him.

On whether there was any petition from JEM Leasing Limited , the witness replied in the negative.

“ JEM owns the aircraft and leased it to Arik, but Arik itself submitted a petition,” he said.

The defence further stated that Arik had defaulted in rental payments to JEM and tendered a letter from the company.

Although the prosecution objected to its admissibility on grounds of lack of certification, Justice Dada admitted the document and marked it as Exhibit P60.

The case was, thereafter, adjourned till June 25 and July 7, 2026, for continuation of trial.

Umahi, APC National Chairman Meet On Presentation Of Tinubu’s Infrastructure Achievements, Other National Issues

The Honourable Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Umahi, CON, on Tuesday met with the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, over plans to present before the National Working Committee the giant strides of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s infrastructure achievements under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

The meeting focused on fixing a date for the Minister to formally brief the party leadership on the administration’s giant strides in road and bridge construction nationwide, projects that have continued to attract commendations and positive reactions from Nigerians across different sectors.

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During the meeting, Senator Umahi commended the APC National Chairman for introducing an engagement process where Ministers appear before the National Working Committee on live telecast to account for the progress and gains made by the administration.

He also commended the National Chairman for the successes recorded so far and the peaceful conduct of the Party’s primaries, as well as the inclusive disposition of the National Working Committee in ensuring that aspirants were given the freedom to contest freely.

Responding, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda applauded the Minister for the ongoing transformation in the nation’s infrastructure sector and assured him that the National Working Committee would soon invite him to formally present the administration’s achievements.

The APC Chairman noted that even before the official presentation, members of the committee and Nigerians have continued to witness and follow the massive infrastructure drive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through television reports, public feedback, and visible projects across the country.

Umahi, APC National Chairman

Senator Umahi also assured Nigerians that the Tinubu administration remains committed to overcoming every challenge confronting the nation while sustaining critical infrastructure development nationwide.

Meanwhile, immediately after the meeting, the Minister proceeded to personally review and address the developing situation at Eko Bridge.

Francis Nwaze, FIPMD
Senior Special Assistant to the Honourable Minister of Works (Media)
May 19, 2026