By CHIMEZIE ANASO

The Anambra government has dismissed two revenue agents for engaging in acts of violence in the course of their official duty.

Mr Gregory Ezeilo, the Chairman of Anambra Internal Revenue Service (AIRS), said this at a news conference in Awka on Monday.

Reports indicate that some revenue agents were seen in a viral video molesting a motorist in Onitsha in the guise of enforcing collection.

Ezeilo, who condemned and denounced the incident, apologised to the people of Anambra, noting that the behavior conflicted with principles of the Prof. Chukwuma Soludo administration.

He said the dismissal would serve as a strong warning to other personnel, adding that the weeding of corrupt revenue agents would be a continuous process.

He said a team had been created to monitor operations of revenue collection agents in the state.

Ezeilo said the AIRS was a responsible establishment and “we condemn the act.

“They went out of their way to pull the driver out of the vehicle and rough handled them.

“Those directly involved have been identified and are hereby dismissed; this will serve as an example for others to behave well.

“We will continue to train and retrain operatives until we find those suitable for this job.

“Tax or revenue collection is a due process matter, which includes assessment, notice and payment,” he said.

Ezeilo said the AIRS was working on digitalisation of motorparks for electronic collection of revenue.

He said the e-park system would be rolled out first in Onitsha and spread to other parts of the state.

According to him, it will eliminate human interference in the revenue collection system.

“We are going to have a unit that will have a human face, no tout system anymore,” he said. (NAN)

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