22nd February, 2022
By Dorathy Aninge
A Makurdi Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday remanded three persons for allegedly impersonating a public servant and forgery.
The Magistrate, Mrs Ajuma Igama, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.
Igama ordered that the defendants – Terseer Tsav, Sunday Ikpa and Shami Nicholas, be remanded at the Makurdi Correctional Centre while investigations continue.
She adjourned the case until March 21, for further mention.
The Police prosecutor, Insp Stella Ngbede, had told the court that the office of the Commissioner of Police, Benue Command, received the complaint the complaint of the alleged crime from the Benue Internal Revenue Service (BIRS) on Feb. 11, 2022.
Ngbede said that one Terna Gwa, a lawyer, signed the complaint on behalf the BIRS Chairperson, Mrs Mimi Orubebe.
According to the prosecutor, the intelligence report indicated that some people were suspected to be printing BIRS receipts.
Ngbede alleged that the defendants specialised in forging revenue receipts in the name of BIRS and presenting themselves as officials of the agency.
She said the defendants, all of Makurdi town, were arrested on Feb. 11, at the laundry room of Kimbis Hotel Makurdi by a police team attached to BIRS, where they were printing the forged receipt.
She said police recovered a laptop, Lotto machine (POS), small printing machine and one roll of printing paper, which they were using to print the receipts.
Ngbede said the defendants had confessed to committing the offence during interrogation by the police while investigation is on going.
The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Sections 97, 134 and 365 of the Penal Code Law of Benue, 2004.