The Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has condemned the action of some revenue agents who unleashed violence on motorists in the state.
A video circulating on social media shows revenue agents dispossessing a motorist of his vehicle and speeding away with it after manhandling him under the pretext that he owed the state N37,000 in revenue.
Soludo, speaking through his press secretary, Christian Aburime, who signed a statement to the effect, condemned the brazen action of the revenue officers.
According to the statement: “The attention of the Anambra State Government has been called to a viral video of public misconduct by two personnel of the Unified Hybrid Enforcement Team (UHBET) acting on behalf of the Anambra State Internal Revenue Service (AiRS).
“In the said video, the UHBET personnel were seen dragging a citizen, identified as a commercial transport operator, out of his vehicle and driving away in the same vehicle. Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo did not and would never authorise such crude ways of engaging the public, for whatever reason.
“In fact, it must be explicitly repeated that such behaviour stands in stark contrast to the responsible, caring, and humane philosophy that the Soludo government upholds. So, the Anambra State Government hereby dissociates itself entirely from the indecorous activities of the overzealous revenue officers and offers sincere apologies to the mistreated individual and the wider community of Ndi Anambra.”
He said Gov Soludo personally expressed dismay over the incident and has ordered immediate action to address this situation.
“The chairman of AiRS, Dr Greg Ezeilo, ordered a prompt, thorough investigation, which has now led to the arrest of the offending officers in the viral video, and they are being held in police custody to account for their actions,” he stated.