No fewer than N721billion was received as bribe by Nigerian public officials in 2023, a new report by the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS), has revealed.
The report released on Thursday titled: “Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends”, said the N721bn paid in bribes amounts to about 0.35% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, (GDP).
The result was based on a survey conducted with the United Nations (UN) Office on Drugs and Crime.
According to the survey, the average cash bribe was N8,284, an increase from an average of N5,754 in 2019.
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 N5,754); this does not account for inflation. The inflation-adjusted average cash bribe in 2023 was 29% smaller than in 2019 in terms of what could be bought with the money.
“Overall, it is estimated that a total of roughly N721 billion (US$1.26 billion) was paid in cash bribes to public officials in Nigeria in 2023, corresponding to 0.35% of the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 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% of Nigerians interacted with a public official in 2023, down from 63% 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% 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% in 2019 to 14% 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% of Nigerians who interacted with a public official paid a bribe, a slight decrease from 29 per cent in 2019. Including 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% of those asked to pay a bribe refused at least once, with the highest refusal rates in the North-West zone at 76%. All regions recorded refusal rates above 60%. 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% in 2019 to 23% in 2023. Also, 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% of bribe refusers indicated they refused because they had other options. Normative concerns (42%) and cost of living pressures (23 per cent) also played significant roles in their refusal to pay bribes.
Furthermore, not less than 60% of public sector workers were hired due to nepotism, bribery or both between 2020 and 2023.
