Couple, 7 others arrested over N1bn ghost workers fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has busted a network that has defrauded the Federal Government over N1 billion by enrolling about 599 ghost workers on the payroll of the Federal Government.

Those arrested include a couple, Dayo Usman Aliyu and his wife, Ronke Usman, both staff of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and seven others.

According to an EFCC source, the couple were said to have exploited gaps in the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System, IPPIS, to enroll 599 ghost workers.

An accountant in the Federal Ministry of Environment, Bede Anyanwu, suspected to be a member of the syndicate, was however released on administrative bail after he was interrogated.

According to reports, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun forwarded the names of 399 suspected ghost workers to the EFCC for investigation but the anti-graft agency, discovered 200 more on the payroll.

The syndicate is believed to have defrauded the nation of over N1 billion as at the time the minister forwarded the formal complaints to the EFCC.

A source at the EFCC said: “A total of nine suspects have already been quizzed at the Abuja headquarters. But the agency is spreading its dragnets wide as cases have been forwarded to some zonal offices of the EFCC for further investigation.

“The Port Harcourt, Lagos and Ibadan offices of the commission are handling the cases of some suspects that were picked up in Umuahia and Abeokuta.”

Read also: EFCC facing accommodation problem, Magu says

According to the source, the syndicate was led by Dayo Usman Aliyu, who exploited gaps in the IPPIS to enrol ghost workers into the Federal Government payroll, using agents who supplied accounts.

“At the time Dayo was arrested by the EFCC, he was raking in a monthly heist of N6.1million through remittance by his agents.

“He had an arrangement in which his agents, some of them civil servants, would collect the money (from ghost staff) and remit 40 per cent of the proceeds to him.

“At the time of his arrest, there were eight such agents working for him.”

The source also said some non-civil servants were also put on the payroll and collecting salaries from the Federal Government with fake appointment letters.

“One of such was Hassan Momoh who was collecting four salaries with four different names. He does not work in any ministry but investigation revealed that he earned over N4 million in two years from the proceeds of the scam.”

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now