Anti-corruption agency says it has uncovered 908 fake workers across more than 50 federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), recovering about ₦942 million allegedly paid as fraudulent salaries.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said the discovery followed an investigation launched in 2024 after irregularities were detected in pension payments.

ICPC chairman Musa Aliyu said the probe revealed that some senior public officials allegedly inserted the names of relatives and associates into government payrolls and diverted their salaries for personal gain.

According to Aliyu, one suspect allegedly enrolled his wife, son and mother-in-law as government workers while collecting the salaries of 12 other fictitious employees.

The Nigeria Police Force recorded the highest number of suspected fake workers with 570 names, followed by the National Water Resources Authority with 80 and the Federal Ministry of Works with 56.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had 24 suspected fake workers, while the Ministry of Defence recorded 19.

The Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment each had 17, the Federal Ministry of Health had 15, while the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation recorded 12.

Aliyu said the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Interior were also affected, although he did not disclose the number of suspected fake workers in those institutions because investigations are ongoing.

The ICPC defines fake workers as individuals whose names are fraudulently inserted into government payrolls despite not being legitimate employees.

The commission said investigations into the payroll fraud are continuing.