By Charles Nwoke
No fewer than 200 armed thugs on Monday attacked a team of security personnel enforcing the e-ticketing policy of the Ebonyi State Internal Revenue Service at Amudo market, Ezza South Local Government Area.
The assailants, who reportedly wielded cutlasses and firearms, barricaded the road with logs and launched a coordinated assault on the enforcement team. Three revenue officials and one operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) sustained serious injuries during the incident.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers were allegedly led by a youth leader in the community. They released all detained motorists and disrupted ongoing enforcement activities, causing panic in the market. “They were over 200. They overpowered the officers, freed arrested drivers, and scattered the operation. People ran for safety,” said an eyewitness, Nweke Timothy.
A survivor, identified only as Samuel, described the assault as a deliberate sabotage of government efforts to eliminate illegal ticket sales and improve revenue transparency. “They produce and sell fake tickets, denying the state its rightful income,” he said.
A staff member of the Ebonyi Revenue Service, who requested anonymity, revealed that the state executive council approved the e-ticketing policy on October 8, 2024. The system officially launched on November 4, after weeks of sensitization campaigns. “We’ve urged stakeholders, especially okada and keke riders, to comply. This attack is a setback,” the source stated.
The thugs also stole three mobile phones from team members, while several others are receiving treatment in hospital. In a related attack, another revenue staff, Henry, was brutally assaulted at a petrol station in Afikpo by touts opposing the e-ticketing system. The matter was reported to police, leading to the arrest of a suspect.
Eyewitnesses said the suspect was released after the intervention of a state lawmaker, Ukie Ezeali, who assured authorities of future cooperation from the transport union.
The Executive Chairman of the Ebonyi State Board of Internal Revenue, Christopher Omo-Isu, condemned the incident, calling it an attack on governance and public accountability. “This appalling act threatens the lives of our dedicated workforce and the integrity of our reforms. We are working with security agencies to arrest those responsible,” he said.
Omo-Isu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to full automation of revenue collection and urged the public to support the initiative. “We will not tolerate any act of intimidation. Our team must operate safely, and the law must take its course,” he added.
Chairperson of Ezza South LGA, Euphemia Nwali, also vowed to investigate and prosecute those behind the violence.
Ebonyi remains the only southeastern state yet to fully automate its revenue collection, a concern for residents and investors who continue to face harassment from illegal tax agents.
