A routine check of pension records has uncovered a much larger payroll fraud that spread through about 50 federal ministries, departments and agencies, leading the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to recover about N942 million and identify 908 suspected fake workers.
ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu, SAN, said the investigation started in 2024 after irregular pension payments caught the commission’s attention, the Guardian reported on 23 July.
The findings are significant because they reveal how weaknesses in one part of the public payment system allegedly opened the door to unlawful salary payments in several government institutions.
What began as a review of pension records quickly expanded into a nationwide examination of salary payments. Investigators traced suspicious transactions to names that were allegedly placed on government payrolls even though the individuals were not genuine employees.
The inquiry has now exposed a pattern that stretches beyond one institution and affects several parts of the federal civil service.
Pension review led investigators to salary records
Aliyu said the commission first detected unusual activity in pension payments before extending the investigation to employee payrolls.
That process uncovered 908 suspected fake workers whose names had allegedly been inserted into government salary records. The commission defines fake workers as people who are not legitimate employees but still receive salaries through the public payroll system.
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The investigation also uncovered cases in which public officials allegedly placed relatives and close associates on government payrolls.
Aliyu cited one suspect who allegedly enrolled his wife, son and mother-in-law as workers while collecting the salaries attached to 12 other names.
The commission recovered about N942 million believed to be linked to fraudulent salary payments made to fictitious workers. The investigation is continuing as officers examine more records.
Payroll review uncovers uneven pattern among agencies
The inquiry covered about 50 ministries, departments and agencies, although the number of suspected fake workers differed from one institution to another.
The Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest figure with 570 suspected fake workers. The National Water Resources Authority followed with 80, while the Federal Ministry of Works had 56.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recorded 24 suspected fake workers. The Ministry of Defence had 19. The Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment each recorded 17, while the Federal Ministry of Health had 15.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation recorded 12 suspected fake workers.
Aliyu also identified the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Interior as part of the inquiry. He did not disclose the figures linked to those institutions because the investigation has not been completed.
The findings show that the alleged fraud was not limited to one sector of government. Instead, investigators found suspected fictitious names in institutions responsible for security, public works, health, foreign relations and administration.
The commission has not released the identities of the suspects linked to the alleged payroll fraud. It has also not announced any criminal charges arising from the investigation.
The inquiry is focused on identifying everyone involved, recovering public funds and removing fictitious names from government payrolls. The exercise also seeks to close loopholes that allowed unlawful salary payments to continue undetected until the pension review uncovered the irregularities.
By tracing suspicious pension transactions to salary records, the commission has turned what began as a pension inquiry into a major payroll fraud investigation that is still coming up within the federal public service.
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