N300m Siphon Husband n Wife Charged For Using ‘Ghost worker’ Scheme

Couple was accused together with one Blessing Ejeh and six others who are civil servants, for allegedly carrying out the illegal scheme.

The couple, Olaolu and Florence Dada, has been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for allegedly receiving about N300 million in salaries from the federal government, via the ‘ghost worker’ scheme, Punch reports.

The six civil servants were identified as Osuntope Opeyemi, Aderibigbe Taiwo, Usman Dayo, Johnson Adedokun, Oyebade Ayodeji and Ojeifo Sylvanus.

The civil servants are employees in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

The presiding judge, Peter Kekemeke, was informed by the EFCC, that the six individuals allegedly created fictitious names and accounts in the federal payroll system between 2009 and 2016, which they used to divert millions of naira.

Mr and Mrs Dada reportedly submitted their account details to the civil servants who then added it to the government’s payroll. Over 11 million naira was allegedly siphoned with their account. The bubble reportedly burst when it was discovered by the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Auditing, that 200 fictitious accounts were being operated by one of the civil servants, with just one Bank Verification Number. The accused all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The court was informed by the counsel to the Dada’s that his clients had applied for a plea bargain with the prosecution, which would lead to a return of some of the stolen funds. The accused were remanded in jail on the order of the trial judge, who then adjourned the case till November 8, for bail hearing.

The anti-graft agency filed charges against five officials, who allegedly padded the federal government’s payroll with about 50,000 ‘ghost’ workers. A detective at the commission said: “You will recall that the Ministry of Finance sent the names of some suspects perpetrating the ‘ghost’ workers’ fraud. We have been able to charge five people. However, investigations are still on-going."