Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
A Magistrate Court in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, has convicted a 73-year-old trader, Bashir Alabi, for falsification of vehicle documents.
Alabi was handed over to the police for investigation having confirmed by the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS) Motor Licencing Authority (MLA) office at Pake, Ilorin, that vehicle documents presented for processing by him were fake.
An extensive investigation on the case revealed three other suspects, Ogunmoroti Akindele, 56, a trader at Kilanko area, Ilorin; Idowu Adebisi, 73, a business centre operator at GRA in Ilorin, and Johnson Ariyo, 32, a computer operator at GRA, Ilorin.
The additional three suspects were nabbed by the Monitoring Unit of the state Police Command for having incriminating documents in their possession and for their involvement in the trade of printing and selling fake Kwara State vehicle documents.
A further investigation by the police also established the recovery of forged state vehicle documents from the shop of one Jamiu, who is now at large.
Having established a case of forgery and conspiracy by the police, all suspects were arraigned before Chief Magistrate A.M Ibrahim.
The first suspect, Bashir Alabi, pleaded guilty to the offences as charged.
Delivering his ruling, the Chief Magistrate Ibrahim gave the accused summary trial and eventually sentenced the 73-year-old Alabi to two years imprisonment with an option of fine, and the other three suspects, who pleaded not guilty, were ordered to be remanded in prison custody pending further trial of the case.
The case was adjourned till April 19, 2022, for mention and or hearing.
Meanwhile, the Executive Chairman, KW-IRS, Shade Omoniyi, has warned individuals in the act of revenue diversion and racketeering to desist from these acts to avoid the wrath of the law.
She also enjoined Kwara people to deal directly with revenue officers of the state Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS) at the various revenue touch points located across the state or transact through the online platforms of the Service and desist from illegality and patronage of agents for any revenue transaction.
