The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured a final court order forfeiting ₦941,994,079.86 linked to an alleged Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) payroll fraud involving suspected ghost workers to the Federal Government. The commission disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday by……
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured a final court order forfeiting ₦941,994,079.86 linked to an alleged Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) payroll fraud involving suspected ghost workers to the Federal Government.
The commission disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday by its Head of Media and Public Communications, J. Okor Odey, saying the order was granted by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
According to the statement, the court granted the ICPC’s ex-parte application seeking the permanent forfeiture of the funds, which the commission said were proceeds of unlawful activities uncovered during investigations into the IPPIS.
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Justice Nyako, while delivering the ruling, ordered that the recovered funds be transferred to the Federal Government.
“That an Order is hereby made for the Final Forfeiture to the Federal Republic of Nigeria the Sum of ₦941,994,079.86 seized during investigation into the IPPIS Payroll scam in the year 2024,” the judge ruled.
The anti-corruption agency said the forfeiture followed extensive investigations that uncovered a large-scale payroll fraud involving hundreds of fictitious public servants across several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
According to the commission, the fraud was first detected during a systems study conducted in 2023, which exposed the existence of numerous ghost workers embedded in the payroll system of several government institutions.
It said the findings prompted President Bola Tinubu to approve a comprehensive audit of the IPPIS platform.
The ICPC added that it subsequently launched a joint investigation with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) in April 2024, leading to the discovery of 587 suspected ghost workers on the payroll system.
The commission said investigators found that fake IPPIS identities had been created for non-existent personnel across multiple MDAs, with salaries paid over long periods into bank accounts belonging to individuals and companies.
It further revealed that in many instances, the names on the bank accounts did not match those of the purported employees, while some accounts simultaneously received multiple salary payments.
As part of its enforcement measures, the commission said it placed Post No Debit (PND) restrictions on all identified accounts between August and November 2024, freezing funds believed to be proceeds of the fraud.
The affected institutions, according to the ICPC, 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 University of Benin, University of Calabar, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and even the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The commission disclosed that a verification exercise conducted in 2025 cleared 120 civil servants, whose identities and employment status were confirmed before they were reinstated on the IPPIS platform.
However, it said investigations showed that 467 bank accounts remained linked to unverified individuals whose identities could not be established.
According to the ICPC’s prosecution counsel, Hamza Sani, detailed records of the affected accounts, including IPPIS numbers, names of the purported workers and beneficiaries’ banking details, were presented before the court as evidence.
The commission also recalled that, following the court’s directive, it published the names of 910 individuals suspected to have benefited from the alleged payroll fraud in Daily Trust and Punch newspapers on March 18, 2026, to allow interested parties to challenge the forfeiture proceedings.
Reaffirming its commitment to tackling corruption, the ICPC stated that it “remains committed to combating corruption and promoting transparency and good governance through the rule of law within the Nigerian space.”
