BREAKING: ICPC Uncovers 908 Ghost Workers, Nigeria Police Tops List (Full List)

• The ICPC has uncovered 908 suspected ghost workers across at least 50 federal ministries, departments and agencies, recovering about N942 million in fraudulent salary payments.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has identified the Nigeria Police Force and five federal ministries and agencies as recording the highest number of suspected ghost workers uncovered during its nationwide payroll verification exercise.

ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), disclosed the findings while speaking on the commission’s ongoing investigation into payroll fraud across federal government institutions, according to a BBC Pidgin report published on Wednesday.

The commission said it uncovered 908 suspected ghost workers across at least 50 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and recovered about N942 million allegedly paid out as fraudulent salaries.

According to the ICPC, ghost workers are fictitious names inserted into government payrolls to fraudulently receive salaries. In some cases, officials allegedly divert government funds by adding relatives or associates to the payroll despite them not being legitimate employees.

Aliyu revealed that investigators uncovered one case involving a man who allegedly placed the names of his wife, son and mother-in-law on the government payroll while also collecting the salaries of 12 other workers.

The ICPC said the Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number of suspected ghost workers during the verification exercise.

“For this operation, we identified 570 people whom we suspect are among the fake workers collecting salaries without working,” Aliyu said.

The National Water Resources Authority ranked second with 80 suspected ghost workers.

“For this agency, we identified 80 names of people collecting salaries even though they are not workers of the agency,” the ICPC chairman added.

The Federal Ministry of Works recorded 56 suspected ghost workers, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had 24.

The Ministry of Defence was found to have 19 suspected ghost workers.

“For the Ministry of Defence, we identified 19 people acting as fake workers,” Aliyu stated.

Other affected institutions include the Federal Ministry of Electricity and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, with 17 suspected ghost workers each, the Federal Ministry of Health with 15, and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation with 12.

The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Interior were also listed among institutions affected by the payroll fraud, although the ICPC did not disclose the number of suspected ghost workers identified in the two agencies.

The anti-corruption commission said investigations into the payroll fraud, which began in 2024, are still ongoing.

FULL LIST: Agencies With the Highest Number of Suspected Ghost Workers

1. Nigeria Police Force – 570
2. National Water Resources Authority – 80
3. Federal Ministry of Works – 56
4. Ministry of Foreign Affairs – 24
5. Ministry of Defence – 19
6. Federal Ministry of Electricity – 17
7. Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment – 17
8. Federal Ministry of Health – 15
9. Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation – 12
10. Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation – Number not disclosed
11. Federal Ministry of Interior – Number not disclosed