The Joint Revenue Board (JRB), under the leadership of its Executive Secretary, Mr Segun Adesokan, has announced a strategic partnership with the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to combat illegal tax collection and dismantle roadblocks mounted for tax collection nationwide.

Speaking during a high-level engagement with senior officers of the NPF, Adesokan emphasised the board’s mandate to ensure uniformity, transparency, and efficiency in revenue administration across Nigeria.

The executive secretary reiterated that ongoing tax reforms championed by President Bola Tinubu are designed to promote fairness and economic growth by focusing on taxing prosperity rather than poverty, and profits rather than investments.

A major highlight of the reforms, he said, is the prohibition of illegal tax practices that have long burdened businesses and citizens, particularly along transport corridors. He recalled that JRB, at its 158th meeting in December 2025, issued a communiqué banning the mounting of roadblocks for tax and levy collection, as well as the use of unauthorised tax stickers nationwide.

Further reinforcing this stance, Adesokan disclosed that a Model Hamrmonised Taxes and Levies Act had already been passed by 15 State Houses of Assembly and was under consideration in others, criminalising cash-based tax collection, illegal roadblocks, and the involvement of non-state actors in revenue collection on public roads.

“These unlawful practices not only harass citizens but significantly increase the cost of goods and services, as transporters are forced to pass on illegal charges to consumers,” he stated.

To address this challenge, the JRB has proposed establishing a joint national task force in collaboration with the NPF.
The task force will operate across all states, working closely with revenue authorities to identify, dismantle, and prosecute illegal tax operators.

In response, a representative of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), DIG Finance and Administration, Mohammed Abdul Suleiman, welcomed the initiative and reaffirmed the police’s commitment to supporting the JRB.

The Force acknowledged the economic and security implications of illegal roadblocks and assured that commissioners of police across states would collaborate fully with the board and the chairmen of sub-national tax authorities in the 36 states and the FCT to eliminate this menace.