The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered cases of alleged payroll fraud involving ghost workers, including an official who reportedly enrolled 14 family members on the government payroll.
The ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Economic Confidential Lecture and National Spokespersons Award organised by Image Merchants Promotions Limited.
Aliyu said the commission’s investigation into ghost workers revealed how individuals manipulated government payroll systems to receive multiple salaries and other public benefits.
“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,” Aliyu said.
He added that another individual allegedly enrolled his wife, daughter, son and other relatives and received 13 salaries.
“Another person enrolled his wife, his daughter, his son, and others and was receiving 13 salaries,” he said.
ICPC identifies about 900 suspected ghost workers
According to Aliyu, the commission also identified about 900 suspected ghost workers and published their names, giving them an opportunity to prove that they were genuine government employees.
He said the investigation lasted about a year and exposed different methods allegedly used to manipulate payroll systems.
“We spent one year, one single year, on ghost workers,” the ICPC chairman said.
Aliyu explained that in some cases, the names of alleged ghost workers appeared on official payrolls alongside email addresses, but the bank accounts linked to the salaries belonged to other individuals.
“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,” he said.
‘Ghost workers can create ghost pensions’
The ICPC chairman warned that the impact of payroll fraud goes beyond the payment of salaries, saying fake employees could also gain access to other government benefits.
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“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,” Aliyu said.
He said the commission’s efforts were aimed at protecting public funds and reducing the financial burden created by fraudulent payroll entries.
Aliyu disclosed that the ICPC recovered more than N24 billion in ghost pension funds in 2024.
“In 2024, we recovered over N24 billion ghost workers pension,” he said.
ICPC shifts focus to prevention
Aliyu said the commission was also placing greater emphasis on preventing corruption and ensuring that government projects were properly executed instead of relying only on criminal prosecution.
“It is better for us to do that than to engage in filing criminal charges. How many charges can we file?” he said.
He said the commission had recovered or secured government resources through interventions in public projects and other areas, adding that the goal was to ensure that Nigerians received value from government spending.
The ICPC chairman also called for greater use of data and technology in the fight against corruption, stressing that reliable information and effective communication were important for building public trust in anti-corruption efforts.
