Salary Fraud: Nigeria To Probe Over 23 000 Civil Servants

Abuja – The Nigerian government plans to investigate over 23 000 civil servants accused of involvement in an organised salary scam, Punch has reported.

According to an investigative committee set up to probe the claims, banks would also be probed.

The civil servants allegedly defrauded the Nigerian government of millions each month, paying “ghost” workers salaries, or making payments to multiple accounts, according to the committee’s preliminary investigation. One of the banks implicated in the scam allegedly opened 300 accounts in one day. None of them were ever used.

A source on the investigative committee said the government planned to remove the civil servants from its payroll. Some had already resigned.

Last month, several senior Nigerian government officials were fired after they were found guilty of promising employment to desperate Nigerians for a fee of 400 000 naira ($2000) each.

According to local newspaper the Daily Post, the fraudsters sent their victims letters of appointment and uploaded their details to the state’s payroll system, before they were caught.

Festus Akanbi, Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance on Media Matters, refused to confirm the committee’s preliminary findings. He said the results of the investigation would be made public once it had been concluded.