The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has summoned former Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, to court for allegedly failing to pay his mandatory Personal Income Tax for the years 2023 and 2024, alongside underpayment for 2020, 2021, and 2022.
A criminal summons dated August 21, 2025, requires Melaye to appear before the Magistrate Court at Wuse Zone II, Abuja, on September 5, 2025. The FCT IRS revealed Melaye paid only fractional amounts of his taxes in previous years, despite declaring substantially higher incomes for instance, over N6.5 million in 2022.
Following an administrative assessment on May 23, 2025, for 2023 and 2024, Melaye failed to respond, prompting a notice of best judgment assessment issued on June 23, 2025. Attempts to personally serve the notice or notify his representative were unsuccessful, resulting in the notice being pasted at his residence gate in Maitama, Abuja on July 9, 2025.
The IRS assessment stated that Melaye’s tax liabilities stood at approximately N234.9 million and N274.7 million for 2023 and 2024 respectively, with additional liabilities pending for earlier years. The notice also informed Melaye of his right to object to the assessment within 30 days with relevant evidence; failure to respond would lead to final recovery proceedings.
Dino Melaye, a former member of both the Senate and House of Representatives, served as chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT and briefly chaired the Senate Committee on Aviation. He was also the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the November 11, 2023, Kogi State governorship election.