The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered 570 ghost workers in the Nigeria Police Force, the highest number recorded among public institutions in its latest findings.

ICPC chairman Musa Aliyu said in an interview with BBC Pidgin on Thursday that an investigation into payroll fraud in Nigeria’s public service uncovered a total of 908 ghost workers across at least 50 ministries, departments and agencies.

The anti-graft agency czar said the Nigeria Police Force has 570 ghost workers, more than half the total number of fake workers fleecing the government.

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

“For the Ministry of Defence, we identified 19 people acting as fake workers,” Mr Aliyu said, adding that the Federal Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had 56 and 24 suspected ghost workers, respectively. Also, the National Water Resources Authority had 80 suspected ghost workers.

The anti-graft czar said ICPC investigations also discovered a man whose family members’ names were inserted into the government’s payroll, collecting 12 salaries.

Meanwhile, the ICPC secured the final forfeiture of N941 million linked to payroll fraud uncovered by its investigations into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).