The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured a final court order forfeiting ₦941,994,079.86 linked to a major Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) fraud involving suspected ghost workers to the Federal Government.
The order was granted by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja following an ex parte application filed by the ICPC on behalf of the Federal Government, seeking the forfeiture of funds identified as proceeds of unlawful activities uncovered during investigations into the IPPIS payroll system.
The court’s decision followed extensive investigations by the anti-corruption agency, which uncovered a large-scale payroll fraud involving hundreds of fictitious public servants whose salaries were diverted into bank accounts linked to individuals and companies.
As directed by the court, the ICPC had on March 18, 2026, published the names of 910 suspected beneficiaries of the alleged fraud in Daily Trust and The Nation newspapers to enable affected persons to challenge the forfeiture proceedings.
The Commission said the fraud was first exposed during a systems review conducted in 2023, which revealed the existence of numerous ghost workers embedded in the payrolls of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Following the findings, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved a comprehensive audit of the IPPIS platform.
Acting on the presidential approval, the ICPC launched a joint investigation with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) in April 2024. The exercise uncovered 587 suspected ghost workers fraudulently enrolled on the IPPIS platform.
According to the Commission, investigations established that fake IPPIS identities had been created for non-existent employees across multiple MDAs, with salaries paid over several years into accounts belonging to individuals and corporate entities. In many instances, the bank account names did not match those of the purported employees, while some accounts received multiple salary payments simultaneously.
To prevent further dissipation of the suspected proceeds of crime, the ICPC placed Post No Debit (PND) restrictions on all identified accounts between August and November 2024, freezing funds believed to have been fraudulently obtained.
The affected institutions 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, 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 nationwide verification exercise carried out in 2025 cleared 120 civil servants, whose identities and employment records were confirmed, leading to their reinstatement on the IPPIS platform.
However, the investigation found that 467 bank accounts remained linked to unverified individuals whose identities could not be established. The frozen balance of ₦941.9 million in those accounts subsequently became the subject of the forfeiture proceedings.
ICPC prosecution counsel, Hamza Sani, told the court that comprehensive records, including IPPIS numbers, names of the purported workers and banking details of beneficiaries, were tendered as evidence in support of the application.
In her ruling, Justice Nyako ordered the final forfeiture of the funds to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “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 ICPC said the judgment underscores its commitment to dismantling corruption networks within the public service and strengthening transparency, accountability and good governance through the rule of law.
