Ex-FIRS Chairman, Fowler, returns to EFCC office over Fresh N9.2bn traced to personal account

A former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Babatunde Fowler, on Monday returned to the Lagos office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for question over his involvement in alleged financial misappropriation under his watch.

According to SaharaReporters, a fresh N9.2 billion was allegedly traced to Fowler’s personal account from Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS) and Alpha Beta in which a former governor of Lagos, Bola Tinubu, had also been mentioned.

Recall that the former FIRS boss was on November 2 invited for questioning by the EFCC over a N5bn fraud perpetrated in the agency under his watch.

Earlier, nine senior officials of the agency were detained by the EFCC over alleged multi-billion-naira fraud in 2019.

Fowler was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 after a query for worsening tax revenues since 2015.

He was also accused of a lavish lifestyle, bankrolling extravagant parties and concerts in Lagos, poor corporate governance structures at the FIRS, poor audits at the FIRS, high handedness in office, diversion of funds, brazen corruption and awarding contracts to stooges and cronies.

He was still being questioned at the Lagos office of the anti-graft agency as at the time of this report.