By The New Diplomat Intelligence Desk
A recent report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that about N721bn was received as bribes by Nigerian public officials in 2023.
In the report titled, “Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends”, the NBS disclosed that Nigerians paid an average cash bribe of N8,284 to public officials in 2023.
The survey which was conducted by the NBS in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and supported by the MacArthur Foundation and the Kingdom of Denmark, further unveiled the revelations that about N721bn which were paid in bribes amounts to roughly 0.35 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.
According to the survey, bribes paid in both public officials offices and the streets accounted for around 35 and 36 per cent of all paid bribes, respectively.
It said 11 per cent of bribes were paid in the respondents’ own homes, while 7 per cent were paid in public buildings such as restaurants, malls, or stations.
The report also said bribery prevalence varies widely across different types of public officials. It said several types of public officials who frequently encounter citizens have relatively small shares of interactions involving bribery such as doctors, nurses, or teachers, while other types of officials who rarely encounter citizens (such as prosecutors or land registry officers) have relatively large shares of interactions involving bribery.
The report read in part: “According to the 2023 survey, the average cash bribe paid was 8,284 Nigerian Naira. While the nominal average cash bribe size increased since 2019 (from NGN 5,754), this does not account for inflation. The inflation-adjusted average cash bribe in 2023 was 29 per cent smaller than in 2019 in terms of what could be bought with the money.
“Overall, it is estimated that a total of roughly NGN 721 billion (US$1.26 billion) was paid in cash bribes to public officials in Nigeria in 2023, corresponding to 0.35 per cent of the entire Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria.”
The report stated that corruption was ranked fourth among the most important problems affecting the country in 2023, after the cost of living, insecurity and unemployment.
It added: “This suggests relatively stable and high levels of concerns about corruption over time and compared to other concerns such as education or housing.
“Nigerians confidence in the government’s anti-corruption effort has been declining over time and across regions. While in 2019, more than half of all citizens thought that the government was effective in fighting corruption, in 2023, the share declined to lessons than a third of all citizens. The downward trend in the citizen’s confidence is observable across the entire country, with all six zones recording reductions of more than 10 percentage points between 2019 and 2023 in terms of the share of citizens who thought the government was effective in fighting corruption.”
The report indicates that 56 per cent of Nigerians interacted with public officials in 2023, which a downward trend from 63 per cent in 2019.
Despite this reduction, bribery remains widespread, with an average of 5.1 bribes paid per bribe payer, totalling approximately 87 million bribes nationwide. This is a decrease from the 117 million bribes estimated in 2019.
It was also disclosed that bribery is more common in rural areas, with rural residents paying an average of 5.8 bribes compared to 4.5 bribes in urban areas.
On payment mode, the report noted that over 95 per cent of bribes were paid in monetary form (cash or money transfer) in 2023.
It said public officials were more likely to demand bribes while private sector actors included doctors in private hospitals, which increased from 6 per cent in 2019 to 14 per cent in 2023.
Despite this rise, bribery in the public sector remains about twice as high, with public sector contact rates also being twice as high as those in the private sector.
In 2023, 27 per cent of Nigerians who interacted with a public official paid a bribe, a slight decrease from 29 per cent in 2019. This include instances where bribes were requested but refused, over one-third of interactions between citizens and public officials involved bribery.
Similarly, the report shows a growing trend of Nigerians refusing to pay bribes. In 2023, 70 per cent of those asked to pay a bribe refused at least once, with the highest refusal rates in the North-West zone at 76 per cent. All regions recorded refusal rates above 60 per cent. This indicates that Nigerians are increasingly standing against corruption.
According to the report, bribery is becoming less accepted in Nigeria. The percentage of citizens who view bribery requests as acceptable to expedite administrative procedures decreased from 29 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2023.
Fewer citizens reported suffering negative consequences after refusing bribe requests in 2023 compared to 2019. This suggests a growing empowerment among Nigerians to confront corrupt officials without fear of repercussions.
In 2023, 21 per cent of those who refused bribes indicated they refused because they had other options. Normative concerns (42 per cent) and cost of living pressures (23 per cent) also played significant roles in their refusal to pay bribes.
