The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered 908 suspected ghost workers across several federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), exposing a payroll fraud scheme that allegedly siphoned hundreds of millions of naira from government coffers.
The anti-corruption agency said it has recovered about N942 million believed to have been fraudulently paid as salaries to the fictitious employees.
Speaking on the development, ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, said the discovery followed an investigation launched by the commission in 2024 after irregularities were detected in pension payments.
According to him, the investigation revealed widespread payroll manipulation involving individuals whose names were fraudulently inserted into government payrolls despite not being legitimate employees.
Aliyu disclosed that the probe uncovered cases in which senior public officials allegedly enrolled their relatives and close associates on government payrolls and diverted the salaries for personal gain.
He cited one case involving a suspect who allegedly placed the names of his wife, son and mother-in-law on the payroll while also collecting the salaries of 12 other workers.
The ICPC chairman said the investigation covered at least 50 federal ministries, departments and agencies, with some institutions recording significantly higher numbers of ghost workers than others.
Among the affected agencies, the Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number of suspected ghost workers, with 570 names flagged by investigators.
The commission said the findings underscore the scale of payroll fraud within the public sector and reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening accountability and ensuring that those involved face prosecution.
