Former Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, has been summoned to appear before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Magistrate Court over alleged tax evasion and underpayment of personal income tax running into hundreds of millions of naira.
A criminal summons dated August 21, 2025, and issued by the Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone II, Abuja, directed Melaye to appear on September 5, 2025, following a complaint by the FCT Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to the FCT-IRS, Melaye allegedly failed to pay his personal income tax for 2023 and 2024, assessed at ₦234,896,000 and ₦274,712,000 respectively.
The agency also accused him of underpaying in 2020, 2021, and 2022, despite declaring far higher annual incomes.For example, the Service revealed that in 2022, Melaye declared an income of over ₦6.5 million but paid only ₦1 million in tax.
His tax records also showed payments of ₦85,000.08 in 2019, ₦100,000.08 in 2020, and ₦120,000 in 2021, amounts the IRS insists were far below what was due.
The agency said an administrative assessment was issued on May 23, 2025, followed by a “best of judgment assessment” on June 23 after Melaye failed to respond within the 30-day window.
Attempts to serve him personally proved unsuccessful, leading officials to paste the notice at his Maitama residence on July 9, 2025.
The FCT-IRS warned that non-compliance amounts to a breach of Section 41 of the Personal Income Tax Act and stated that recovery proceedings would be initiated if Melaye fails to pay or file an objection.
Melaye, a former member of both the Senate and House of Representatives, once chaired the Senate Committees on FCT and Aviation.
He was also the PDP candidate in the November 2023 Kogi State governorship election.
