The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has handed over N104.1 million in unremitted taxes recovered from Kiara Rice Mills Limited to the Niger State Government.
The funds were officially handed over on Wednesday at the EFCC’s Ilorin Zonal Directorate following an investigation into unremitted tax liabilities owed by Kiara Rice Mills Limited.
The Commission said the recovered sum of N104,091,162.46 represents outstanding taxes accumulated between 2021 and 2024. The money was recovered from Kiara Rice Mills Limited, a multi-billion-naira rice processing company located in Kpatsuwa Village, Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.
According to the EFCC, intelligence received in February 2025 revealed that the company had failed to remit its full tax obligations despite operating profitably in the state. This prompted an investigation by the Foreign Exchange Malpractice Section, which later confirmed the tax infractions. The EFCC said the process led to full recovery of the outstanding liabilities.
EFCC’s position on the recovery
Speaking during the handover ceremony, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, was represented by the Ilorin Zonal Director, Commander of the EFCC, CE Ansalem Ozioko, Ph.D.
“The function of the EFCC is to prevent, investigate, and prosecute economic and financial crimes, recover what was stolen, and return it to the rightful owners. That is exactly what we are doing here today,” he said.
He urged the Niger State Government to continue partnering with the Commission and to be ambassadors of the EFCC by reporting any act that fails the integrity test.
Receiving the funds, the Group Head of Tax Operations at the Niger State Internal Revenue Service, Alhaji Aminu Bawa, commended the EFCC for its diligence.
“On behalf of the Niger State Government, I wish to express our sincere appreciation to the Commission for this commendable recovery effort. This development will have a direct and positive impact on the lives of our people,” he said
He added that the recovered funds would be credited into the state government’s account and used for development projects across Niger State.
What you should know
According to data shared by the EFCC, the agency logged over 19,000 petitions and carried out 29,240 investigations within the period, which led to 10,525 cases being filed in court and 7,503 convictions. It recovered 1,502 non-monetary assets, including 753 duplexes in Lokogoma, Abuja, and Nok University in Kaduna State, now operating as the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia.
- The Commission has also recovered N566,319,820,343.40, $411,566,192.32, £71,306.25, €182,877.10, and other foreign currencies between October 2023 and September 2025.
- Part of the recovered funds has been deployed into public programmes such as the Students Loan Scheme and the Consumer Credit Scheme, with N100 billion committed so far. Institutions such as the NDDC, AMCON, FIRS, and NHIA have also benefited from returned funds.
The EFCC highlighted several ongoing and concluded corruption cases involving former governors and ministers and confirmed that it arrested 792 suspects linked to investment and cryptocurrency fraud in Lagos in December 2024, including 192 foreigners who were later prosecuted and deported. It added that it has reopened several longstanding cases and set up a Task Force on Naira Abuse and Dollarisation of the Economy to curb illicit currency activities nationwide.
