The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has said it would arraign a civil servant and some bank officials for allegedly creating bank accounts for 38 ghost workers.

Director of Public Enlightenment of the ICPC, Rasheedat Okoduwa, said this while making a presentation at a Stakeholders’ Validation Meeting on the Report of Corruption Risk Assessment of Nigeria’s E-Government System in Abuja on Tuesday.

She said the civil servant inserted the 38 non-existent names into the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System for payment of salaries.

She said, “There is a case of about 38 persons who are not government officials who were put (into IPPIS) by the system operator on her own so that she would be collecting money through their names.

“She went ahead to open bank accounts. Even the bank (officials) that opened the accounts are part of the people that will be taken to court because about four or five of those accounts had the same phone number.

“The bank officials did not do the KYC (Know Your Customer) exercise properly. Most of the addresses on those accounts are nowhere. They do not exist. So, that is also negligence on the part of the bank.”

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, said IPPIS was porous and called on the operators to improve.

Oyo-Ita, who was represented by the Director of Special Duties at the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Adesola Olusade, said the token used in the IPPIS user portal expires after two weeks, leaving room for manipulation.

Azeez