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By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has called for deeper collaboration with security agencies to strengthen tax enforcement and protect national revenue assets ahead of the commencement of the National Revenue Service (NRS) Act on January 1, 2026.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement with multiple security agencies in Lagos on Tuesday, , Head of the Special Enforcement Division of FIRS, CSP Kyes Bakfur, said effective enforcement depends heavily on inter-agency cooperation, intelligence sharing and coordinated field operations.
Bakfur noted that the Special Enforcement Division has, over the years, safeguarded FIRS facilities nationwide, conducted investigations into tax-related criminal offences, and executed operations contributing to revenue recovery. “This year alone, our division has successfully executed enforcement operations that contributed to the broader revenue collection effort of FIRS,” he said.
He stressed that the briefing was organised to improve synergy with agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), FIU and FSU, especially as enforcement operations increasingly require shared intelligence and joint action. “Our expectation is a much more symbiotic association or relationship,” Bakfur told reporters after the event. According to him, “The main aim of this parley was to be able to make sure that security agencies, like other different forms of agencies that handle tax evasion, that we can work together to be able to create a much more robust agenda for tax enforcement all over Nigeria.”
On concerns raised about inadequate equipment and infrastructure for enforcement teams, he added that “the Executive Chairman of the FIRS has been able to address that one for us.”
Consultant to FIRS, Oladipo Olayemi, said the session focused on strengthening collaborative capacity rather than highlighting internal weaknesses. “What we’ve been able to do in this test session is to sensitize the security agencies on how to create a collaborative synergy with the FIRS. More revenue generated means more funds will be given to the security outfit for us to live in a safe environment.”
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Olayemi, while admitting that some internal issues such as bribery or inter-agency misconduct exists, he explained, “We’re not trying to dwell on the negative side of the assistance. We’re just looking at where do we go from here, how do we work together to ensure that security is being given to all our soldiers, and the revenue to do that is being generated adequately.”
Delivering a paper titled Strengthening Inter-Agency Collaboration for Enhanced Revenue Generation and National Security in Nigeria, Olayemi noted that insecurity continues to undermine tax administration, citing smuggling, illegal mining, oil theft, cyber-enabled fraud, and illicit financial flows as key contributors to revenue losses.
He said security agencies play a critical role in detecting evasion networks and providing intelligence that tax authorities cannot obtain alone. “Intelligence is key. So we can help them to discover every tax evasion network,” he told participants, adding that joint taskforces, improved information-sharing, and coordinated field compliance checks would boost national revenue.
Olayemi stressed that security and revenue generation are interdependent. “It takes a secure environment before the revenue generation authorities can actually do their job,” he said.
“We must see ourselves as collaborators so that the channel of revenue generation will not be disrupted because of insecurity,” he added.
He urged security agencies to assist FIRS in monitoring high-risk transactions, flagging suspicious financial movements and supporting enforcement actions against chronic tax evaders. “When they see that there’s a security personnel with FIRS, they will know it’s a serious business,” he said.
