A Magistrate’s Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has summoned former Kogi West senator Dino Melaye over allegations of tax evasion totaling N500 million. 

Magistrate Chiemena Nonye-Okoronkwo issued the summons on August 21, 2025, following a suit filed by the FCT Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS). 

The agency accused Melaye of failing to pay his personal income taxes for 2023 and 2024, as well as underpaying taxes in 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

Melaye is scheduled to appear before the court on September 5, 2025. 

Records show that despite declaring higher incomes, Melaye paid only N85,000.08 in 2019, N100,000.08 in 2020, N120,000 in 2021, and N1 million in 2022. Notably, the FCT-IRS stated that Melaye earned N6.5 million in 2022 alone. 

An administrative assessment was issued for the 2023 and 2024 tax years on May 23, 2025. When Melaye failed to respond within 30 days, a "Best of Judgment" (BOJ) assessment was issued on June 23, 2025. 

The assessments revealed tax liabilities of N234,896,000 for 2023 and N274,712,000 for 2024. The notice emphasized non-compliance despite reminders, citing breach of tax obligations under Section 41 of the Personal Income Tax Act and stating that recovery proceedings would follow if payments or objections are not made within 30 days. 

The FCT-IRS warned that failure to respond or settle the liabilities would result in the assessments becoming final and conclusive, leading to enforcement actions without further notice.