By Nafisat Abdulrahman
The Federal government has ordered a fresh verification of thousands of federal civil servants recruited between 2013 and 2020, following mounting allegations of job racketeering and the sale of employment slots to desperate Nigerians.
The directive, contained in an August 4, 2025 circular signed by Ndiomu Ebiogeh Philip, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), warned that any worker who fails to appear for the exercise will be presumed to possess a fake appointment letter and face immediate removal.
The re-verification targets officers who failed to participate in the 2021 verification exercise. “No further extension will be granted,” the circular stated, accusing some civil servants of “deliberately staying away to avoid detection.”
The move followed revelations by whistleblower Martins Oghenerhoro Richard Atijegbe, a staff member in the Ministry of Works’ Human Resource Management Department, who alleged that senior ministry officials had been selling federal jobs for up to N2.5 million.
“My petition to both chambers of the National Assembly has to do with employment racketeering involving the Minister of Works,” Martins said.
According to him, ministry directors “would collect the sum of N2.5 million from people, sell a job to them, and within a month, they would issue fake documents and enrol them into IPPIS.”
Martins claimed that his decision to expose the alleged fraud has made him a target. “I discovered it and made it public, and I am being persecuted for doing so. I am on the verge of losing my job,” he said.
His petition, filed by lawyer Liberty Semper Fidelis, accuses the Ministry of Works of fraud, abuse of power, conspiracy, and attempts to cover up the scandal. The ministry has dismissed the allegations as “incredibly fictitious.”
On Monday, Martins said the new verification order was directly linked to his petition. “Due to my petition, the Federal Civil Service Commission is verifying all appointment letters made from 2013 to 2020, to ascertain the level of fake letters in the system,” he said.
According to the FCSC circular, affected officers must check their names on the Commission’s website (www.fedcivilservice.gov.ng), the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation’s website (www.ohcsf.gov.ng), and notice boards of their ministries.
They are required to present original and photocopies of key documents, including their letters of appointment, regularisation, promotion, gazette confirmation, and July 2025 IPPIS payslip.
The re-verification exercise will run from Monday, August 18 to Thursday, August 28, 2025, covering ministries and agencies such as Agriculture, Defence, Education, Justice, Works, Information, Science and Technology, Aviation, Finance, Interior, and the State House.
The Commission’s circular emphasised that, Officers on posting, secondment, transfer, or study leave must still appear, those who have recently completed the exercise need not appear again, and any officer who fails to show up will be deemed to have presented a fake appointment letter.
“No further extension will be granted any officer who fails to turn up for the exercise,” the statement warned.
Leadership.
