The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered cases of alleged payroll fraud involving the creation of ghost workers, including an official who reportedly enrolled 14 family members and collected multiple salaries.
The ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, disclosed this while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Economic Confidential Lecture and National Spokespersons Award organised by Image Merchants Promotions Limited (IMPR) in Abuja.
Aliyu said investigations by the commission had uncovered various methods allegedly used to insert fictitious employees into government payroll systems and divert public funds.
“We discovered that one person enrolled 14 members of his family. He lived in a religious hotel, a hotel at the public office, receiving salaries,” he said.
The ICPC chairman added that another individual allegedly enrolled his wife, daughter, son and other relatives and was receiving 13 salaries.
According to Aliyu, the commission has identified about 900 suspected ghost workers and published their names to enable genuine employees among those listed to come forward and establish their identities.
He said the investigation lasted about a year and uncovered cases in which fictitious employees appeared to have legitimate names and email addresses on official payroll systems, while the bank accounts linked to their records belonged to other individuals.
“We spent one year, one single year, on ghost workers,” Aliyu said.
“When they insert their names, you will see their name in the payroll. You will see their email. But when you check the account number, you will see the name of the person. So, that is how these things have been done.”
Aliyu warned that payroll fraud could have wider financial implications beyond the payment of salaries, as fictitious employees could also become beneficiaries of pensions, mortgages, housing funds and health insurance.
He disclosed that the ICPC recovered more than N24 billion in suspected ghost workers’ pension funds in 2024.
“Because, you know, once there is a ghost worker, there is ghost pension, there is ghost mortgage, there is ghost housing fund, there is ghost health insurance,” he said.
“In 2024, we recovered over N24 billion ghost workers pension.”
The ICPC chairman said the commission was strengthening collaboration with other government agencies and adopting preventive measures to curb corruption and recover public resources.
He said the commission was increasingly prioritising corruption prevention and ensuring that government projects were properly executed rather than relying solely on criminal prosecution.
“It is better for us to do that than to engage in filing criminal charges. How many charges can we file?” Aliyu said.
He explained that the ultimate objective was to ensure that Nigerians received value for government expenditure.
Aliyu also called for greater use of data and technology in the fight against corruption, stressing that reliable information and effective communication were essential to strengthening public confidence in anti-corruption efforts.