The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of ₦941,994,079.86 traced to bank accounts linked to suspected ghost workers uncovered on the Federal Government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.
Justice Binta Nyako granted the forfeiture order following an application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
“That 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 investigation into the IPPIS payroll scam in the year 2024,” the judge ruled.
ICPC spokesperson, Okor Odey, disclosed the development in a statement issued on Saturday, saying the commission’s investigation uncovered a large-scale payroll fraud involving hundreds of non-existent public servants.
According to him, the entire ₦941.9 million was traced to accounts allegedly connected to the scheme.
Odey said a review of the IPPIS conducted in 2023 revealed numerous suspected ghost workers embedded in the payrolls of several federal ministries, departments and agencies.
Following the discovery, President Bola Tinubu reportedly approved a comprehensive audit of the payroll system.
A joint investigation subsequently conducted by the ICPC and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation in April 2025 uncovered 587 suspected ghost workers on the 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,” Odey said.
He added that in several instances, the names on the receiving bank accounts did not correspond with those of the purported public servants.
Some accounts were also allegedly receiving several salary payments simultaneously.
Following the discoveries, the ICPC placed post-no-debit restrictions on the affected bank accounts to prevent the withdrawal or transfer of the funds while investigations continued.
The commission said the ministries, departments and agencies affected included the Nigeria Police Force and the federal ministries of Defence, Education, Agriculture and Rural Development, Works, Water Resources and Interior.
Others included the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies; University of Benin; University of Calabar; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; University of Maiduguri; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The inclusion of the institutions reflected the payroll locations from which the suspected irregular payments were allegedly made and does not, by itself, establish institutional wrongdoing by the organisations.
The commission said a verification exercise conducted in 2025 cleared 120 civil servants after their identities and employment records were confirmed.
However, 467 bank accounts remained linked to unverified persons whose identities and employment status could not be established.
The ₦941,994,079.86 frozen in those accounts has now been finally forfeited to the Federal Government following the court order.
Odey also disclosed that the ICPC published the names of 910 persons suspected of benefiting from the alleged payroll fraud in two national newspapers on March 18, 2026.
The investigation into the identities of the account holders and other persons allegedly involved in the scheme is expected to continue.
The IPPIS is a centralised payroll platform introduced by the Federal Government to manage the salaries and personnel records of federal public servants, eliminate payroll fraud and improve accountability in public expenditure.
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