JRB AND POLICE LAUNCH NATIONAL TASK FORCE TO DESTROY ILLEGAL TAX ROADBLOCKS

JRB AND POLICE LAUNCH NATIONAL TASK FORCE TO DESTROY ILLEGAL TAX ROADBLOCKS

Joint enforcement unit to operate across all 36 states; legislation passed in 15 states

The Joint Revenue Board and the Nigeria Police Force announced Sunday the formation of a joint national task force to identify, dismantle, and prosecute illegal tax operators and the roadblocks they run across Nigeria's transport corridors.

The initiative was unveiled during a high-level engagement between JRB Executive Secretary Segun Adesokan and senior police officers. The task force will operate across all states and work closely with revenue authorities to target unauthorized agents who have long extracted arbitrary levies from businesses and commuters along major highways.

Adesokan disclosed that a Model Harmonised Taxes and Levies Act, already passed by 15 State Houses of Assembly and under consideration in the remaining states, criminalises cash-based tax collection, illegal roadblocks, and the involvement of non-state actors in public road revenue collection.

"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," Adesokan said.

A senior police representative, Mohammed Abdul Suleiman, confirmed the Force's commitment, stating that Commissioners of Police in all states would collaborate with the JRB and subnational tax authorities to eliminate the practice. Both institutions agreed to develop a comprehensive implementation strategy.

The roadblock crackdown forms part of Nigeria's broader 2025–2026 tax reform push, which earlier banned cash-based levies and introduced presumptive taxation for small businesses.