Court orders final forfeiture of ₦941.9m linked to alleged IPPIS ghost workers

By Johnson Arua

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured a final court order forfeiting ₦941,994,079.86 traced to an alleged ghost workers' payroll fraud uncovered during investigations into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

The order was granted by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, following an ex parte application filed by the ICPC on behalf of the Federal Government, seeking the forfeiture of the funds believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the Commission's Head of Media and Public Communications,
Okor Odey, who said the recovered funds would now be transferred to the Federal Government.

According to the statement, the Commission had, on March 18, 2026, published the names of 910 individuals suspected to have benefited from the alleged payroll fraud in Daily Trust and The Nation newspapers, following the court's directive.

The ICPC said its investigation uncovered a widespread payroll fraud involving hundreds of fictitious workers, with over ₦941.9 million traced to bank accounts linked to the scheme.

The discovery stemmed from a system study conducted by the Commission in 2023, which exposed the existence of numerous ghost workers on the payrolls of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Following the findings, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved a comprehensive audit of the IPPIS, leading to a joint investigation by the ICPC and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation in April 2024. The exercise reportedly uncovered 587 suspected ghost workers on the federal payroll.

Investigators found that fake IPPIS identities had been created for non-existent employees across multiple MDAs, while salaries were paid over several years into accounts belonging to individuals and companies. In many instances, account names did not match those of the purported employees, with some accounts receiving multiple salary payments simultaneously.

Between August and November 2024, the Commission placed Post No Debit (PND) restrictions on all identified accounts, freezing funds suspected to be proceeds of fraud.

The affected institutions include the Nigeria Police Force, the Federal Ministries of Defence, Education, Agriculture and Rural Development, Works, Water Resources and Interior, as well as the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies, the Universities of Benin, Calabar, Nigeria Nsukka and Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

The Commission further disclosed that a verification exercise conducted in 2025 cleared 120 civil servants, who were subsequently reinstated on the IPPIS after their identities and employment were confirmed. However, 467 bank accounts remain linked to unverified individuals, with the account holders yet to be identified.

ICPC prosecution counsel, Hamza Sani, told the court that detailed records of the affected accounts, including IPPIS numbers, names of the purported workers and banking details of beneficiaries, were tendered as evidence.

In her ruling, Justice Nyako ordered the final forfeiture of the frozen funds to the Federal Government, declaring: "An order is hereby made for the final forfeiture to the Federal Republic of Nigeria of the sum of ₦941,994,079.86 seized during investigations into the IPPIS payroll scam in the year 2024."

The ICPC reaffirmed its commitment to fighting corruption and promoting transparency, accountability and good governance through the rule of law.