The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has uncovered 908 ghost workers across several federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), leading to the recovery of about ₦942 million allegedly lost to a fraudulent payroll scheme.
ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu disclosed that the discovery followed an investigation launched in 2024 after the commission detected irregularities in pension payments.
According to him, the probe uncovered widespread payroll fraud involving the insertion of fictitious names into government salary systems to divert public funds.
Aliyu alleged that some senior public officials enrolled relatives and associates on government payrolls and collected the salaries for personal gain.
He cited a case in which a suspect allegedly placed his wife, son and mother-in-law on the payroll while also receiving the salaries of 12 other workers.
The investigation covered at least 50 federal MDAs, with the Nigeria Police Force recording the highest number of suspected ghost workers at 570. Other affected institutions include the National Water Resources Authority with 80 ghost workers, the Federal Ministry of Works with 56, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with 24, and the Ministry of Defence with 19.
