By Gabriel Atumeyi
Babatunde Fowler, former chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), is currently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged fraud.
365Daily gathered that Fowler was invited on Monday morning over an ongoing investigation involving Alpha Beta Consulting firm.
Fowler left office as FIRS chairman after his tenure expired in December 2019.
Though EFCC is yet to disclose his alleged crime, a reliable source told 356Daily the invitation was not unconnected to the “Alpha Beta” case.
Alpha Beta is a consulting firm for the Lagos state government on internally-generated revenue (IGR). Of late, the firm has been embroiled in a fraud and tax evasion controversy.
A former managing director of the firm, Oladapo Apara, made some of these allegations.
In a recent suit filed at the Lagos high court, Apara alleged that the company has been diverting billions of naira from the coffers of the Lagos state government since 2002.
He also alleged money laundering, tax evasion, forgery and a number of corporate fraudulent practices on the part of the company and its owners.
Joined as a defendant in the suit is Bola Tinubu, former governor of the state, whom Apara claimed is complicit in the fraud.
In 2018, the former employee also alleged that the company had so far generated N1.5 trillion for the Lagos government, out of which the firm earned 10 per cent as commission but it allegedly failed to pay taxes.
The firm had denied the allegations, accusing Apara of libel.