* Says bribery is an established part of administrative
procedure in Nigeria
* Police, judiciary identified as biggest bribe-takers
An estimated N400 billion, or the equivalent of $4.6 billion in
purchasing power parity (PPP), representing 39 per cent of the
combined federal and state education budgets in 2016, is paid out
as bribes to public officials in Nigeria annually, a new report
released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in
collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC), has revealed.
The National Corruption Report, which covered the period between
June 2015 and May 2016 also showed that almost a third of Nigerian
adults (32.3 per cent) who had contact with public officials
between June 2015 and May 2016 had to pay, or were requested to pay
a bribe to such public officials.
According to the report, the magnitude of public sector bribes
in Nigeria becomes even more palpable when factoring in the
frequency of the payments, adding that the majority of those who
paid bribes to public officials did so more than once over the
course of the year.
Bribe-payers, it added, pay an average of some six bribes in one
year, or roughly one bribe every two months.
“Roughly 400 billion Nigerian Naira is spent on bribes each year.
Taking into account the fact that nine out of every ten bribes paid
to public officials in Nigeria are paid in cash and the size of the
payments made, it is estimated that the total amount of bribes paid
to public officials in Nigeria in the 12 months prior to the survey
was around 400 billion Nigerian Naira (NGN), the equivalent of $4.6
billion in purchasing power parity (PPP). This sum is equivalent to
39 per cent of the combined federal and state education budgets in
2016,” the report said.
It equally revealed that bribe-payers spend an eighth of their
salary on bribes, noting that the average sum paid as cash bribe in
the country was approximately N5,300, which is equivalent to
roughly $61(PPP).
“This means that every time a Nigerian pays a cash bribe, he or
she spends an average of about 28.2 per cent of the average monthly
salary of approximately NGN18,900.
“Since bribe-payers in Nigeria pay an average of 5.8 bribes over
the course of one year, 92 per cent of which are paid in cash, they
spend an average of NGN 28,200 annually on cash bribes—equivalent
to 12.5 per cent of the annual average salary,” it added.
The report, which is the first of its kind in the country in
terms of scope, said Nigerians consider bribery the third most
important problem facing their country.
“The above findings could explain why, after the high cost of
living and unemployment, Nigerians consider corruption to be the
third most important problem facing their country, well ahead of
the state of the country’s infrastructure and health services.
“Public sector bribery is not the only form of corruption
affecting Nigeria: the prevalence of bribery in relation to
selected employees of private companies is 5.5 per cent, meaning
that bribery is also significant in the private sector in
Nigeria.
“However, the payment of bribes to public officials is the most
familiar and widespread form of corruption directly experienced by
the population and the one that most affects the lives of ordinary
citizens,” it noted.
Giving an insight into how bribery works in the country, the
report said public officials in Nigeria show little hesitation in
asking for a bribe, noting that the vast majority of bribery
episodes are initiated either directly or indirectly by public
officials (85.3 per cent), while almost 70 per cent of bribes are
paid before a service is rendered.
It stressed that with such a large portion of public officials
initiating bribes, which are paid up-front, it seemed that many
public officials show little hesitation in asking for a kickback to
carry out their duty, adding that bribery is an established part of
the administrative procedure in Nigeria.
“While money is by far the most important form of bribe payment
in Nigeria, the survey shows that other forms of bribe payment,
such as the provision of food and drink, the handing over of
valuables or the exchange of another service or favour, also
exist.
“Qualitative research shows that such exchanges may sometimes
include sexual services, although the actual extent of that
particular form of bribe payment is unknown,” the NBS report
said.
The survey showed that a large proportion of bribes in Nigeria
(42 per cent) are paid to speed up or finalise an administrative
procedure that may otherwise be delayed for long periods or even
indefinitely, thus making bribery the most effective option for
facilitating that service.
According to the report, the second largest proportion of bribes
(18 per cent) is paid to avoid the payment of a fine, a frequent
request in citizens’ encounters with the police, while 13 per cent
of all bribes are paid to avoid the cancellation of public utility
services, an indication that the provision of the most basic
amenities, including water and sanitation, can be subject to abuse
of power by public officials in Nigeria.
On the categories of public servants indulging in bribery, the
report said law enforcement and the judiciary were areas of
particular concern.
“Police officers are the type of public official to whom bribes
are most commonly paid in Nigeria. Of all adult Nigerians who had
direct contact with a police officer in the 12 months prior to the
survey, almost half (46.4 per cent) paid that officer at least one
bribe, and in many cases more than one, since police officers are
also among the three types of public officials to whom bribes are
paid most frequently (5.3 bribes per bribe-payer over the course of
12 months) in Nigeria. At the same time, the average bribe paid to
police officers is somewhat below the average bribe size.
“Although fewer people come into contact with judiciary
officials than with police officers over the course of the year,
when they do, the risk of bribery is considerable: at 33 per cent,
the prevalence of bribery in relation to prosecutors is the second
highest, closely followed by judges and magistrates, at 31.5 per
cent.
“The experience of corruption in encounters with public
officials whose duty it is to uphold the rule of law can lead to
the erosion of trust in public authority,” it said.
The report put the prevalence rate of corruption in the public
sector at 32.3 per cent, and the average number of bribes paid to
public officials by bribe-payers at 5.8.
The total number of bribes paid to public officials in Nigeria
in the 12-month period also stands at 82.3 million, while per
capita number of bribes paid to public officials by the adult
population was 0.9 per cent.
The contact rate with public officials in the review period was
52.2 per cent; the prevalence rate in the rural setting was 31.0
per cent while 34.8 per cent was posted in the urban setting
On the average number of bribes paid to public officials by
adult Nigerians in the period, by zone, the North-west recorded
0.86 per cent; North-east 0.78 per cent; North-Central 1.1 per
cent; South-West 1.13 per cent; South-South 1.05 per cent; and
South-east 0.60 per cent.
The NBS said the data presented in the report was collected in
the National Survey on the Quality and Integrity of Public
Services, otherwise known as the Nigerian Corruption Survey, a
project funded by the European Union and implemented by the UNODC
in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria
(NBS).
The statistical agency noted that Nigerian Corruption Survey was
designed as a large-scale household survey, representative at the
level of the Nigerian states, with the aim of collecting baseline
information.
The report is the first comprehensive nationwide household
survey on corruption to be conducted in Nigeria and in Africa at
large, and covers all states of the federation, including the
Federal Capital Territory.
According to the NBS, the report provides very valuable and
reliable information, which will support the national efforts at
reducing the corruption menace, as well as blocking loopholes in
public services.
* Says bribery is an established part of administrative
procedure in Nigeria
* Police, judiciary identified as biggest bribe-takers
An estimated N400 billion, or the equivalent of $4.6 billion in
purchasing power parity (PPP), representing 39 per cent of the
combined federal and state education budgets in 2016, is paid out
as bribes to public officials in Nigeria annually, a new report
released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in
collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC), has revealed.
The National Corruption Report, which covered the period between
June 2015 and May 2016 also showed that almost a third of Nigerian
adults (32.3 per cent) who had contact with public officials
between June 2015 and May 2016 had to pay, or were requested to pay
a bribe to such public officials.
According to the report, the magnitude of public sector bribes
in Nigeria becomes even more palpable when factoring in the
frequency of the payments, adding that the majority of those who
paid bribes to public officials did so more than once over the
course of the year.
Bribe-payers, it added, pay an average of some six bribes in one
year, or roughly one bribe every two months.
“Roughly 400 billion Nigerian Naira is spent on bribes each year.
Taking into account the fact that nine out of every ten bribes paid
to public officials in Nigeria are paid in cash and the size of the
payments made, it is estimated that the total amount of bribes paid
to public officials in Nigeria in the 12 months prior to the survey
was around 400 billion Nigerian Naira (NGN), the equivalent of $4.6
billion in purchasing power parity (PPP). This sum is equivalent to
39 per cent of the combined federal and state education budgets in
2016,” the report said.
It equally revealed that bribe-payers spend an eighth of their
salary on bribes, noting that the average sum paid as cash bribe in
the country was approximately N5,300, which is equivalent to
roughly $61(PPP).
“This means that every time a Nigerian pays a cash bribe, he or
she spends an average of about 28.2 per cent of the average monthly
salary of approximately NGN18,900.
“Since bribe-payers in Nigeria pay an average of 5.8 bribes over
the course of one year, 92 per cent of which are paid in cash, they
spend an average of NGN 28,200 annually on cash bribes—equivalent
to 12.5 per cent of the annual average salary,” it added.
The report, which is the first of its kind in the country in
terms of scope, said Nigerians consider bribery the third most
important problem facing their country.
“The above findings could explain why, after the high cost of
living and unemployment, Nigerians consider corruption to be the
third most important problem facing their country, well ahead of
the state of the country’s infrastructure and health services.
“Public sector bribery is not the only form of corruption
affecting Nigeria: the prevalence of bribery in relation to
selected employees of private companies is 5.5 per cent, meaning
that bribery is also significant in the private sector in
Nigeria.
“However, the payment of bribes to public officials is the most
familiar and widespread form of corruption directly experienced by
the population and the one that most affects the lives of ordinary
citizens,” it noted.
Giving an insight into how bribery works in the country, the
report said public officials in Nigeria show little hesitation in
asking for a bribe, noting that the vast majority of bribery
episodes are initiated either directly or indirectly by public
officials (85.3 per cent), while almost 70 per cent of bribes are
paid before a service is rendered.
It stressed that with such a large portion of public officials
initiating bribes, which are paid up-front, it seemed that many
public officials show little hesitation in asking for a kickback to
carry out their duty, adding that bribery is an established part of
the administrative procedure in Nigeria.
“While money is by far the most important form of bribe payment
in Nigeria, the survey shows that other forms of bribe payment,
such as the provision of food and drink, the handing over of
valuables or the exchange of another service or favour, also
exist.
“Qualitative research shows that such exchanges may sometimes
include sexual services, although the actual extent of that
particular form of bribe payment is unknown,” the NBS report
said.
The survey showed that a large proportion of bribes in Nigeria
(42 per cent) are paid to speed up or finalise an administrative
procedure that may otherwise be delayed for long periods or even
indefinitely, thus making bribery the most effective option for
facilitating that service.
According to the report, the second largest proportion of bribes
(18 per cent) is paid to avoid the payment of a fine, a frequent
request in citizens’ encounters with the police, while 13 per cent
of all bribes are paid to avoid the cancellation of public utility
services, an indication that the provision of the most basic
amenities, including water and sanitation, can be subject to abuse
of power by public officials in Nigeria.
On the categories of public servants indulging in bribery, the
report said law enforcement and the judiciary were areas of
particular concern.
“Police officers are the type of public official to whom bribes
are most commonly paid in Nigeria. Of all adult Nigerians who had
direct contact with a police officer in the 12 months prior to the
survey, almost half (46.4 per cent) paid that officer at least one
bribe, and in many cases more than one, since police officers are
also among the three types of public officials to whom bribes are
paid most frequently (5.3 bribes per bribe-payer over the course of
12 months) in Nigeria. At the same time, the average bribe paid to
police officers is somewhat below the average bribe size.
“Although fewer people come into contact with judiciary
officials than with police officers over the course of the year,
when they do, the risk of bribery is considerable: at 33 per cent,
the prevalence of bribery in relation to prosecutors is the second
highest, closely followed by judges and magistrates, at 31.5 per
cent.
“The experience of corruption in encounters with public
officials whose duty it is to uphold the rule of law can lead to
the erosion of trust in public authority,” it said.
The report put the prevalence rate of corruption in the public
sector at 32.3 per cent, and the average number of bribes paid to
public officials by bribe-payers at 5.8.
The total number of bribes paid to public officials in Nigeria
in the 12-month period also stands at 82.3 million, while per
capita number of bribes paid to public officials by the adult
population was 0.9 per cent.
The contact rate with public officials in the review period was
52.2 per cent; the prevalence rate in the rural setting was 31.0
per cent while 34.8 per cent was posted in the urban setting
On the average number of bribes paid to public officials by
adult Nigerians in the period, by zone, the North-west recorded
0.86 per cent; North-east 0.78 per cent; North-Central 1.1 per
cent; South-West 1.13 per cent; South-South 1.05 per cent; and
South-east 0.60 per cent.
The NBS said the data presented in the report was collected in
the National Survey on the Quality and Integrity of Public
Services, otherwise known as the Nigerian Corruption Survey, a
project funded by the European Union and implemented by the UNODC
in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria
(NBS).
The statistical agency noted that Nigerian Corruption Survey was
designed as a large-scale household survey, representative at the
level of the Nigerian states, with the aim of collecting baseline
information.
The report is the first comprehensive nationwide household
survey on corruption to be conducted in Nigeria and in Africa at
large, and covers all states of the federation, including the
Federal Capital Territory.
According to the NBS, the report provides very valuable and
reliable information, which will support the national efforts at
reducing the corruption menace, as well as blocking loopholes in
public services.
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