The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has uncovered 908 fake workers across several federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), exposing a payroll fraud scheme that allegedly siphoned hundreds of millions of naira.
The anti-corruption agency said it recovered about N942 million linked to fraudulent salary payments made to the fictitious employees.
According to BBC Pidgin, ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu said the discovery followed an investigation launched in 2024 after the commission detected irregularities in pension payments.
Aliyu explained that fake workers are individuals whose names are fraudulently inserted into government payrolls despite not being legitimate employees.
He said investigators uncovered cases where senior government officials allegedly enrolled relatives and associates on payrolls and diverted their salaries for personal gain.
One suspect, according to the ICPC chairman, allegedly placed the names of his wife, son and mother-in-law on the government payroll while also collecting the salaries of 12 other workers.
The investigation covered at least 50 federal ministries, departments and agencies, with some institutions recording significantly higher numbers of suspected fake workers than others.
The Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number with 570 suspected fake workers.
Other affected institutions include the National Water Resources Authority with 80, the Federal Ministry of Works with 56, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with 24, and the Ministry of Defence with 19 suspected fake workers.
Aliyu also said the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment each had 17 suspected fake workers, while the Federal Ministry of Health recorded 15 and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation had 12.
He added that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Interior were also among the affected institutions but did not disclose the number of suspected fake workers there, saying investigations are ongoing.
