IPPIS Fraud: Court orders final forfeiture of N941 million recovered from ghost workers

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of the sum of N941,994,079.86 linked to suspected ghost workers uncovered during the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission’s (ICPC) investigation into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, gave the ruling on an ex parte application filed by the ICPC, according to a statement issued by the Commission.

Following an interim order of the court, the ICPC published the names of 910 individuals suspected to have benefited from the alleged fraud in two national newspapers—Daily Trust and The Nation—on March 18, 2026.

The ICPC prayed that the funds be forfeited to the Federal Government, arguing that they were proceeds of unlawful activities.

What they are saying

According to the ICPC, its prosecution counsel, Mr. Hamza Sani, Esq., presented detailed records of the affected accounts.

Evidence presented before the court included IPPIS numbers, the names of the purported workers, and the banking details of the beneficiaries.

Ruling on the application, Justice Nyako agreed with the ICPC’s submission.

She ruled that:

• “An Order is hereby made for the final forfeiture to the Federal Republic of Nigeria of the sum of N941,994,079.86 seized during the investigation into the IPPIS payroll scam in the year 2024.”

Reacting to the development, the ICPC stressed that it remains committed to combating corruption and promoting transparency and good governance through the rule of law in Nigeria.

More Insights

According to the statement, investigations by the ICPC revealed a large-scale payroll fraud involving hundreds of non-existent public servants, with a total sum of N941,994,079.86 traced to accounts linked to the scheme.

The discovery followed a systems study conducted by the Commission in 2023.

The exercise revealed the existence of numerous “ghost workers” embedded in the payrolls of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

• “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.
• “In many cases, the account names did not correspond with those of the purported employees, while some accounts received multiple salary payments simultaneously,” the statement added.

Between August and November 2024, the Commission ensured that Post No Debit (PND) restrictions were placed on all identified accounts over the suspected fraud.

The affected MDAs include the Nigeria Police Force; the Federal Ministries of Defence, Education, Agriculture and Rural Development, Works, Water Resources, and Interior; as well as institutions such 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.

What you should know

The litigation stemmed from years of the Federal Government’s efforts to crack down on ghost workers.

The Federal Government began implementing the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) in 2007 to enhance transparency, accuracy, security, and reliability in the management of personnel records.

In 2023, the Federal Government announced that it would delist unverified civil servants from its payroll following the IPPIS verification exercise.