The Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number of suspected ghost workers uncovered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), accounting for 570 of the 908 fake employees identified across federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in a nationwide payroll fraud investigation that also led to the recovery of about N942 million in fraudulent salary payments.
According to BBC Pidgin, ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu said the discovery followed a nationwide investigation launched in 2024 after the commission detected irregularities in pension payments.
Aliyu said the probe exposed widespread payroll fraud involving the insertion of fictitious names into government payrolls, allowing suspects to divert salaries meant for non-existent employees.
He alleged that some senior public officials exploited the system by enrolling relatives and associates as government workers to receive salaries illegally.
The ICPC chairman revealed that investigators uncovered one case in which a suspect allegedly placed the names of his wife, son and mother-in-law on the government payroll while also collecting salaries for 12 other fictitious workers.
The National Water Resources Authority recorded 80 suspected ghost workers, followed by the Federal Ministry of Works with 56.
Other affected institutions include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with 24 suspected ghost workers, the Ministry of Defence with 19, and both the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment with 17 cases each.
The Federal Ministry of Health recorded 15 suspected ghost workers, while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation had 12, Aliyu added.
He also disclosed that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Interior were implicated in the ongoing investigation, although he did not state the number of suspected ghost workers linked to the two institutions.
Aliyu said investigations are continuing and that additional discoveries could emerge as the probe progresses.
The ICPC described ghost workers as individuals whose names are fraudulently inserted into government payrolls to facilitate the illegal diversion of public funds, a practice it said continues to undermine transparency and accountability in the public service.
