“Dino Melaye Faces Court Over Alleged ₦509 Million Tax Evasion”

Abuja, August 27, 2025 — Former Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, has been summoned to appear before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Magistrate Court in Abuja on September 5, 2025, to answer charges of tax evasion. The summons, dated August 21, 2025, accuses Melaye of failing to pay his mandatory Personal Income Tax for the years 2023 and 2024, as well as under-declaring his income in previous years.

According to the FCT Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Melaye paid only ₦85,000.08 in 2019, ₦100,000.08 in 2020, ₦120,000 in 2021, and ₦1,000,000 in 2022, despite declaring an annual income of over ₦6.5 million in 2022. The IRS issued a Best of Judgment Assessment on June 23, 2025, after Melaye failed to respond to an administrative assessment issued on May 23, 2025.

The IRS has assessed Melaye’s tax liabilities at ₦234,896,000 for 2023 and ₦274,712,000 for 2024. The agency has also identified income under-declaration and underpayment for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, and additional notices will be issued upon conclusion of its review.

Melaye, who previously served as Chairman of the Senate Committees on the Federal Capital Territory and Aviation, was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the November 11, 2023, Kogi State governorship election, where he lost to Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC).