ICPC uncovers ghost payrolls, official paying 14 family members

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has uncovered cases of alleged payroll fraud involving government workers, including an official who enrolled 14 family members on the government payroll and another who allegedly collected 13 salaries.

The ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu (SAN), 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 investigations into ghost workers had exposed how individuals manipulated government payroll systems to receive multiple salaries.

He said one official enrolled 14 members of his family on the payroll while living in a religious hotel.

“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.

The ICPC chairman said another individual allegedly enrolled his wife, daughter, son and other relatives and collected 13 salaries.

ICPC identifies 900 suspected ghost workers

Aliyu disclosed that the commission had identified about 900 suspected ghost workers and published their names, challenging those listed to prove that they were genuine employees.

“We now secured the income of about 900 ghost workers, whose names we published in papers,” he said.

According to him, the commission spent one year investigating the suspected ghost workers and uncovering how fictitious names were inserted into government payroll systems.

“We spent one year, one single year, on ghost workers,” he said.

Aliyu explained that in some cases, the names of the suspected ghost workers appeared on official payrolls alongside email addresses, but the bank accounts attached to the records belonged to other people.

“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. So, that is how these things have been done,” he explained.

The ICPC chairman warned that payroll fraud could extend beyond the payment of salaries, potentially creating fraudulent pension, housing, mortgage and health insurance benefits.

“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 intervention was aimed at protecting public funds and reducing the financial burden created by fraudulent payroll practices.

Aliyu also disclosed that the ICPC recovered more than N24bn in ghost pension funds in 2024.

“In 2024, we recovered over N24bn in ghost workers’ pension,” he said.

Aliyu said the commission was increasingly focusing on preventing corruption and ensuring that government projects were properly executed, rather than relying solely 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 ICPC had recovered or secured government resources through interventions in public projects and other areas, stressing that the ultimate goal was to ensure Nigerians benefited from public expenditure.

The commission, he added, was also promoting greater use of data and technology in the fight against corruption, while stressing the importance of effective communication and access to reliable information in building public confidence in anti-corruption efforts.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Image Merchants Promotions Limited, Yusha’u Shuaib, said the lecture was organised to promote stronger governance through transparency, accountability and professional communication.

“We are honoured to host yet another gathering of leaders, professionals, scholars, and communication experts committed to strengthening governance, promoting transparency, and advancing excellence in public communication,” Shuaib said.