James Ojo, Abuja
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered the diversion of over N250 million into private pockets.
The discovery was made during the scrutiny of personnel cost account of the Usman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto State.
According to the commission, intelligence-led investigation revealed that the fraud was carried out when deductions meant for third parties such as the state Board of Internal Revenue and over payment deductions were diverted on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and channeled into the private accounts of an individual and a company.
Spokesperson of the Commission, Rasheedat Okoduwa, revealed that suspects linked with the fraud had been taken into custody, including the kingpin, who is an accounts staff of UDUTH, for questioning.
ICPC has also commenced efforts to recover the proceeds of this fraud through the seizure of exotic cars and real estate properties from the main culprit. Checks by the Commission on how a critical national infrastructure such as the IPPIS could be compromised indicated likely negligence on the part of the management of the Teaching Hospital and other loopholes.
For instance, failure to cross-check and reconcile the execution of its budget and allowing officers from the Finance and Account Department to access another officer’s password on the platform, present real threats and vulnerabilities.
Further checks revealed that the suspect took advantage of the window of opportunity on the IPPIS platform that “allows Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) to edit salaries that have been processed by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) before they are finalized or paid,” to substitute the genuine destination account numbers with those of his co-conspirators before payment.
“Findings indicated that the platform does not match account names with account numbers. This loophole created the opportunity for the fraudster to divert the funds successfully for the while that the fraud lasted,” she added.