A civil servant, Mr. Martins Atijegbe, has accused the Federal Ministry of Works of victimising him for exposing alleged employment racketeering and illegal enrolments into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
Atijegbe, a Level Nine officer in the ministry, told journalists in Abuja on Wednesday that he had been denied his salary and promotion since 2024 after revealing the alleged fraud.
“I have not received any salary since August 2024, even though I have not been dismissed. When I requested my payslip, I was told to obtain permission from the Director of Human Resources before I could access it. I have also been denied promotion since the issue began,” he said.
His lawyer, Dr. Abdul Mahmud, described Atijegbe as the victim of a “carefully orchestrated campaign of fraud, abuse of power, criminal conspiracy, and defamation.”
Mahmud said his client’s only offence was exposing a cabal allegedly involved in employment racketeering, in which individuals with fake appointment letters were documented and added to the IPPIS platform.
He explained that Atijegbe, whose file number is WAB 88279, had petitioned the then Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, in July 2020. Copies of the petition, he added, were sent to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
According to Mahmud, an eight-member investigative committee was later constituted to probe the allegations, but the process was compromised as some of those named in the petition were included in the committee.
He alleged that the panel violated Atijegbe’s right to a fair hearing by denying him access to its report and the evidence presented against him, despite repeated requests.
“There were also unsubstantiated allegations of extortion and sexual harassment against my client, without any witness or credible proof,” he said.
Mahmud further accused the ministry of suppressing key evidence of fraudulent documentation and manipulating the final report, adding that his client had since faced threats to his life and was transferred to a field office in Gwagwalada as an act of persecution.
“This case represents a deeper decay in the civil service. When those with vested interests investigate themselves, justice is dead on arrival. When whistle-blowers are punished, corruption thrives,” he stated.
The lawyer demanded the resignation of officials allegedly involved in the racketeering, the nullification of the investigative report, and an independent probe into the case.
He also called for Atijegbe’s reinstatement, full protection under Nigeria’s whistle-blower policy, and guarantees for his safety.
Mahmud urged the National Assembly Committees on Public Petitions and Ethics to invoke Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution to investigate the matter.
“This is a test for Nigeria — will we reward courage or punish it? Our client deserves protection, not persecution,” he said.
Efforts to obtain the ministry’s response to the allegations were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages to the Directors of Human Resources and Information were not returned as of press time.
