The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has uncovered 908 suspected ghost workers across at least 50 federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), with the Nigeria Police Force recording the highest number of questionable entries.
ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), disclosed the findings while speaking on the commission’s ongoing investigation into payroll fraud in federal government institutions, according to a BBC Pidgin report on Wednesday.
Aliyu said the exercise led to the recovery of about ₦942 million allegedly paid out as fraudulent salaries.
The commission explained that ghost workers are fictitious names fraudulently inserted into government payrolls to receive salaries. In some instances, public officials allegedly add relatives or associates to the payroll despite them not being legitimate employees.
According to the ICPC chairman, investigators uncovered a case involving a man who allegedly enrolled his wife, son and mother-in-law on the government payroll while also collecting the salaries of 12 other workers.
Among the institutions investigated, the Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number of suspected ghost workers, with 570 names flagged during the verification exercise.
The National Water Resources Authority followed with 80 suspected ghost workers, while the Federal Ministry of Works recorded 56.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had 24 suspected ghost workers, while the Ministry of Defence recorded 19.
The Federal Ministry of Electricity and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment each had 17 suspected ghost workers, while the Federal Ministry of Health recorded 15.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation was also listed with 12 suspected ghost workers.
The ICPC further identified the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Interior among institutions affected by the payroll fraud, although it did not disclose the number of suspected ghost workers found in those offices.
According to the commission, the nationwide payroll verification exercise began in 2024 and investigations into the alleged fraud are still ongoing.
