A Federal High Court in Lagos has exposed a brazen payroll scam within Nigeria’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), sentencing two officials to three years in prison for diverting salaries meant for former staff of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute Meta.
Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala, in a ruling delivered yesterday, found Shola Onasanya, Chief Accountant and Payroll Desk Officer, and Halimat Olalere, Principal Executive Officer of Accounts, guilty of manipulating salary records to siphon ₦1.17 million into personal accounts.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which prosecuted the case, told the court that instead of halting salary payments to departed FMC employees between January and December 2023, the duo redirected the funds.
Olalere swapped the legitimate payroll details with her own bank accounts and later funneled the money to Onasanya, the mastermind of the scheme.
As part of the judgment, Justice Kala ordered the immediate closure of the fraudulent bank accounts—UBA Account Number 1004722884 and Union Bank Account Number 0171442130—while also giving the convicts the option of paying a ₦100,000 fine each instead of serving the full sentence.
The case was concluded swiftly after both defendants entered a plea bargain agreement with the ICPC, pleading guilty to a two-count amended charge marked FHC/L/559c/2025.
Describing the scam as a “clear case of corruption and money laundering,” ICPC prosecutor Enosa Omoghibo said the officials had abused public trust and violated Sections 18 and 21 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Justice Kala’s ruling highlights the vulnerability of government payroll systems, even as anti-corruption agencies continue to clamp down on fraud within the public service.
