Our Reporter, Abuja
A Senior Executive Officer at the Federal Ministry of Works, Mr. Martins Oghenerhoro Richard Atijegbe, has accused top officials of the ministry of orchestrating a campaign of fraud, persecution, and cover-up following his whistleblowing on alleged large-scale employment racketeering and illegal inclusion of names in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
At a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Atijegbe’s legal representative, Dr. Abdul Mahmud, Esq, Managing Partner of Liberty Semper Fidelis LP, said the whistleblower was being “punished for exposing a powerful cabal” involved in employment fraud at the ministry’s headquarters.
Mahmud, who spoke on behalf of his client, described the development as “a clear case of corruption fighting back,” warning that the persecution of whistleblowers undermines Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts and erodes public trust in government institutions.
Background of the Allegations
According to Mahmud, Atijegbe, a career civil servant on salary grade level 09, had in July 2020 written a petition to the then Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, alerting him to fraudulent recruitment and documentation of officers with fake appointment letters into IPPIS.
Copies of the petition were also sent to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Federal Civil Service Commission, the Minister of Labour and Employment, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
However, instead of receiving protection as a whistleblower, Mahmud said Atijegbe became the target of a “vindictive campaign,” which included defamation, intimidation, demotion, and a punitive posting to the FCT Field Office in Gwagwalada.
‘A Compromised Investigation’
The lawyer alleged that an eight-man committee set up by the Ministry to investigate the matter was compromised from inception.
“One of the members, Mrs. Morayo S. Alimi, who chaired the Human Resources Department where the racketeering originated, should never have been appointed to the panel,” he said, adding that her inclusion violated the principle of natural justice — nemo judex in causa sua (no one should be a judge in their own cause).
Mahmud further claimed that the committee’s proceedings were fraught with constitutional breaches, including denial of fair hearing, suppression of evidence, and manipulation of findings.
“Our client was accused of extortion and sexual harassment without any witnesses or opportunity to cross-examine his accusers. Evidence he presented against the fraudulent officers was deliberately omitted from the final report,” he said.
Call for Accountability
Mahmud demanded the resignation of the Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi; the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN; the FCSC Chairman, Prof. Tunji Olaopa; and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, accusing them of aiding institutional corruption by failing to act on Atijegbe’s petitions.
He also called for the suspension of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works, Engr. Adebiyi Olufunso Olusesan, and the Director of Human Resources Management, Alhaji Aliyu Abdullahi, for allegedly covering up corruption within the ministry.
Mahmud demanded that the “biased and unconstitutional” report of the investigative committee be nullified and that an independent probe be launched into specific cases of fraudulent employment, including those of Offor Kingsley Chibuike (WAB 88690), Engr. Kenneth Odeh (WAB 88683), and Mary Anyiam Chinenye (WAB 88705).
Appeal to the National Assembly
He urged the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions and the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to exercise their oversight powers under Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution to investigate the case.
“This case is not just about one man; it is about the soul of our civil service,” Mahmud said. “When whistleblowers are persecuted, corruption wins.”
A Test for the Nigerian State
Concluding the briefing, Mahmud vowed that Liberty Semper Fidelis LP would pursue the matter “in every forum — the legislature, the courts, and the court of public opinion.”
Quoting the late Justice Kayode Eso, he said: “The principles of natural justice are not for decoration; they are meant to secure justice.”
“Our client deserves protection, not persecution; vindication, not victimisation,” he added, urging the Nigerian people and the press to “shine light on corruption, because sunlight remains the best disinfectant.”
