Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of N941,994,079.86 linked to suspected ghost workers uncovered in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to the Federal Government. Justice Binta Nyako gave the order following an ex parte application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on behalf of the Federal Government. The presiding judge ruled that the funds, believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities uncovered during investigations into the IPPIS payroll system in 2024, be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
The ICPC spokesperson, Mr. Okor Odey, announced the forfeiture in a statement issued on Saturday, explaining that investigations by the commission uncovered a large-scale payroll fraud involving hundreds of non-existent public servants. The total sum of N941,994,079.86 was traced to accounts linked to the scheme. According to Odey, a systems study conducted by the commission in 2023 revealed the existence of numerous ghost workers embedded within the payrolls of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Following the findings, President Bola Tinubu approved a comprehensive audit of the IPPIS.
Subsequently, in April 2024, the ICPC initiated a joint investigation with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), which uncovered 587 suspected ghost workers on the IPPIS platform. Investigations revealed that fictitious IPPIS identities had been created for non-existent personnel across multiple MDAs, with salaries paid over extended periods into accounts belonging to individuals and companies. In many cases, the account names did not correspond with those of the purported employees, while some accounts received multiple salary payments simultaneously.
Between August and November 2024, the commission placed Post No Debit (PND) restrictions on all identified accounts, effectively freezing the funds suspected to be proceeds of fraud. The affected MDAs include the Nigeria Police Force, the Federal Ministries of Defence, Education, Agriculture and Rural Development, Works, Water Resources, and Interior. Others are the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies, the University of Benin, the University of Calabar, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the University of Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and even the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
A verification exercise conducted in 2025 cleared 120 civil servants, whose identities and employment status were confirmed and subsequently reinstated on the IPPIS platform. However, investigations showed that 467 bank accounts remain linked to unverified individuals, with account holders yet to be identified. The ICPC said the N941.9 million currently frozen in these 467 bank accounts has been forfeited to the Federal Government. Following the court’s directive, the commission published the names of the 910 individuals suspected to have benefited from the alleged fraud in two national dailies—Daily Trust and The Nation Newspapers—on March 18, 2026, to allow interested parties to contest the forfeiture proceedings.
The IPPIS is a centralised payroll system the Federal Government introduced to manage the salaries of federal public sector employees. The forfeiture order marks a significant victory for the ICPC in its ongoing efforts to combat corruption and recover public funds. Justice Nyako, in her ruling, ordered the transfer of ownership of the recovered funds to the Federal Government. The ICPC reiterated its commitment to combating corruption and promoting transparency, accountability, and good governance through the rule of law.
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