ABUJA, Nigeria — The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered a massive payroll fraud scheme involving 908 suspected ghost workers embedded across 50 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Following an extensive investigation in collaboration with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), the ICPC secured a final forfeiture order from Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja for ₦941,994,079.86 diverted through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

According to court filings presented by ICPC prosecution counsel Hamza Sani, fictitious IPPIS identities were created for non-existent personnel across key government bodies, with monthly salaries paid into accounts belonging to syndicate members, companies, and relatives of corrupt officials over several years.

Investigations revealed severe anomalies:

  • Mismatching Account Names: Bank account details did not correspond with the names on the government payroll.
  • Multiple Salary Receipts: Single bank accounts were found receiving multiple civil servant salaries simultaneously.
  • Top Affected Institutions: The Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number of suspected ghost workers, alongside the Federal Ministries of Defence, Education, Agriculture, Works, Water Resources, and Interior, as well as institutions like the University of Benin, University of Calabar, and University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Following an initial freeze on 467 suspicious bank accounts, the ICPC conducted a state-wide verification exercise that successfully cleared and reinstated 120 legitimate civil servants whose employment records were validated.

However, hundreds of accounts remained linked to untraceable, non-existent individuals.

Delivering judgment on the ex-parte application filed by the ICPC, Justice Binta Nyako ruled:

"An order is hereby made for the final forfeiture to the Federal Republic of Nigeria of the sum of ₦941,994,079.86 seized during investigation into the IPPIS payroll scam."

Anti-corruption groups have commended the recovery, calling for deeper structural audits across all federal payroll systems to prevent syndicate manipulation and ensure full accountability in public spending.