IPPIS
Other financial institutions listed in the court papers are Ecobank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Fidelity Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), Jaiz Bank, Keystone Bank, NPF Microfinance Bank, Polaris Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling Bank, Union Bank, Unity Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Wema Bank and Zenith Bank.
Court papers have revealed how civil servants used Access Bank, First Bank and 15 other banks to cream the sum of ₦941,994,079.86 (N941.9 million) from the federal government using the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
Other financial institutions listed in the court papers are Ecobank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Fidelity Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), Jaiz Bank, Keystone Bank, NPF Microfinance Bank, Polaris Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling Bank, Union Bank, Unity Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Wema Bank and Zenith Bank.
These were said to be the banks used by civil servants in the IPPIS fraud.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)’s which investigated the IPPIS fraud unearthed mind-blowing distortions, twists and outright intent to defraud the system.
Political Economist NG reports that following the preponderance of evidence, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the final forfeiture of the said amount recovered during the investigation.
Justice Binta Fatima Nyako had granted the final forfeiture order on Monday, July 13, 2026, permanently vesting the recovered funds in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
This order followed an application filed by the ICPC in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/156/2026 after investigators traced suspicious payroll-related transactions to 909 bank accounts spread across major financial institutions in the country.
The court’s order effectively transfers ownership of the recovered funds—previously domiciled in the ICPC Recovery Account pending judicial determination—to the Federal Government.
Justice Nyako ruled: “That an order is hereby made for the Final Forfeiture to the Federal Republic of Nigeria the Sum of ₦941,994,079.86 seized during investigation into IPPIS Payroll scam in the year 2024,” Justice Nyako ruled.
PRNigeria had earlier reported that the first respondent listed in the court papers is Mr. Arilewola Olusanya Matthew, who maintained an account with Access Bank.
The documents further indicate that several individuals appeared under multiple account numbers across different banks, a pattern investigators commonly associate with the layering and movement of suspected illicit proceeds.
The respondents comprise individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, including persons bearing titles such as “Dr.” and “Mrs.”, while some of the accounts were maintained with NPF Microfinance Bank, suggesting that the investigation also extended to personnel connected with the security sector, reports PRNigeria.
The court’s order effectively transfers ownership of the recovered funds—previously domiciled in the ICPC Recovery Account pending judicial determination—to the Federal Government.
However, documents obtained indicate that ICPC investigators uncovered an elaborate scheme in which public funds were allegedly diverted through hundreds of accounts maintained across multiple banks by manipulating the IPPIS payroll.
The recovered money, according to the court documents, was considered reasonably suspected proceeds of unlawful activities and was subsequently preserved in the ICPC Recovery Account pending judicial determination.
Justice Nyako’s ruling now permanently transfers the recovered funds to the Federal Government
