The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) 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 names on the Federal Government payroll.
The anti-corruption agency said its ongoing payroll verification exercise also led to the recovery of about N942 million allegedly paid out as fraudulent salaries.
ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), disclosed the findings while speaking on the commission’s investigation into payroll fraud in Federal Government institutions, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The latest discovery is one of the largest payroll fraud investigations in recent years and highlights the government’s continuing efforts to eliminate ghost workers from the public service and reduce waste in public spending.
According to the ICPC, ghost workers are fictitious names or individuals illegally inserted into government payroll systems so that salaries can be collected fraudulently. In many cases, corrupt officials divert the salaries into personal accounts or place relatives, friends and associates on the payroll despite them not being legitimate government employees.
Aliyu said investigators uncovered several fraudulent schemes during the exercise, including one involving a government official who allegedly placed the names of his wife, son and mother-in-law on the payroll.
He added that the same suspect was also collecting the salaries of 12 genuine workers, further exposing the scale of payroll fraud in some public institutions.
The ICPC chairman said the Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number of suspected ghost workers among all the affected agencies.
“For this operation, we identified 570 people whom we suspect are among the fake workers collecting salaries without working,” Aliyu said.
The figure accounts for more than half of the 908 suspected ghost workers identified by the commission during the verification exercise.
Following the police was the National Water Resources Authority, where investigators identified 80 suspected ghost workers.
“For this agency, we identified 80 names of people collecting salaries even though they are not workers of the agency,” Aliyu stated.
The Federal Ministry of Works ranked next with 56 suspected fake workers, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recorded 24.
The Ministry of Defence was also listed among the affected institutions, with the commission identifying 19 suspected ghost workers.
“For the Ministry of Defence, we identified 19 people acting as fake workers,” the ICPC chairman said.
Other institutions affected include the Federal Ministry of Electricity and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, each with 17 suspected ghost workers.
The Federal Ministry of Health had 15 suspected fake workers, while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation recorded 12.
The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Interior were also named by the commission as agencies affected by payroll fraud. However, the ICPC did not disclose the number of suspected ghost workers identified in the two institutions.
Although the commission has not announced criminal charges against the affected individuals or officials, it indicated that investigations are continuing and that those found culpable would face appropriate legal action.
The payroll verification exercise forms part of broader efforts by the Federal Government to strengthen accountability, improve transparency and ensure that public funds are spent on legitimate workers rather than fraudulent beneficiaries.
Ghost worker fraud has remained one of the biggest financial leakages in Nigeria’s public service for decades. Successive administrations have repeatedly uncovered thousands of fake employees across ministries and agencies, resulting in the loss of billions of naira.
To tackle the problem, the Federal Government introduced reforms such as the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to centralise salary payments and eliminate duplicate or fictitious names from government payrolls.
The government has also expanded the use of the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) and biometric verification exercises to improve payroll management and reduce corruption.
Despite these reforms, anti-corruption agencies have continued to uncover new cases of payroll manipulation, suggesting that some officials have found ways to bypass existing controls.
The discovery of 908 suspected ghost workers is expected to trigger fresh scrutiny of payroll management across the Federal Civil Service and security agencies.
The Nigeria Police Force, which recorded the highest number of suspected ghost workers, has in recent years embarked on personnel audits and biometric verification exercises aimed at cleaning up its payroll and improving accountability.
The force has also been implementing reforms designed to modernise its personnel records and ensure that salary payments are made only to verified officers.
Similarly, several ministries and government agencies have introduced digital record-keeping systems and electronic attendance registers to reduce opportunities for payroll fraud.
The ICPC has consistently identified payroll fraud as one of the major forms of corruption affecting public institutions.
Beyond prosecuting offenders, the commission has intensified efforts to strengthen preventive measures by working with government agencies to improve payroll systems, close loopholes and promote transparency.
Aliyu said the commission remains committed to recovering public funds lost through corruption and ensuring that those responsible for financial crimes are held accountable.
He stressed that eliminating ghost workers is essential to improving efficiency in the public service and ensuring that taxpayers’ money is used for national development.
The latest findings are expected to prompt further investigations across affected institutions as the ICPC continues its verification exercise.
The commission believes that removing ghost workers from the payroll will not only save billions of naira for the government but also strengthen public confidence in ongoing efforts to fight corruption and improve accountability in Nigeria’s public sector.