Global anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International
(TI), has again ranked Nigeria low in its 2017 Corruption
Perception Perception Index (CPI) released on Wednesday.
The latest ranking has Nigeria in the 148th position out of 180.
The country, according to the CPI, scored 28 out 100, a figure
lower than the average in the Sub-Sharan region.
CPI score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as
experienced by business people and analysts and ranges between 100
(highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).
Nigeria’s latest placement indicates that the country has not
made progress in its fight against graft, despite claims by the
Muhammadu Buhari Presidency that it is making a headway. In the
2016 rankings, Nigeria scored 28. In 2015, it scored 26. The year
before that, it scored 25. In 2014, the country scored 27 and 25 in
2013.
In 2012, the country’s score was 27 out of 100. According to TI,
higher levels of corruption are common in countries where there is
media and civil society repression.
It explained that majority of countries are moving too slowly in
their anti-corruption efforts, saying that many countries have made
little to no progress in the last six years.
“Even more alarming, further analysis of the index results
indicates that countries with the lowest protections for press and
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also tend to have the worst
rates of corruption,” said TI in a statement.
This latest CPI, said TI,found that more than two-thirds of
countries scored below 50, with an average score of 43.
“Over the last six years, several countries significantly
improved their CPI score, including Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and the
United Kingdom, while several countries declined, including Syria,
Yemen and Australia.
This year, New Zealand and Denmark rank highest with scores of
89 and 88 respectively. Syria, South Sudan and Somalia rank lowest
with scores of 14, 12 and 9 respectively.
Western Europe was ranked the best performing region with an
average score of 66. The worst performing regions are Sub-Saharan
Africa (average score 32) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia
(average score 34).TI stated that almost all journalists killed
since 2012 were killed in corrupt countries.
“No activist or reporter should have to fear for their lives
when speaking out against corruption. Given current crackdowns on
both civil society and the media worldwide, we need to do more to
protect those who speak up,” said Patricia Moreira, TI’s Managing
Director.
TI’s analysis, which used data from the Committee to Protect
Journalists, indicated that over the last six years, more than nine
out of 10 journalists were killed in countries that scored 45 or
less on the CPI. This, said TI, implies that at least a journalist
is killed every week in a country that is highly corrupt. It added
that an average of one in five journalists that died was covering a
story about corruption and majority of the victims never get
justice.
Global anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International
(TI), has again ranked Nigeria low in its 2017 Corruption
Perception Perception Index (CPI) released on Wednesday.
The latest ranking has Nigeria in the 148th position out of 180.
The country, according to the CPI, scored 28 out 100, a figure
lower than the average in the Sub-Sharan region.
CPI score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as
experienced by business people and analysts and ranges between 100
(highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).
Nigeria’s latest placement indicates that the country has not
made progress in its fight against graft, despite claims by the
Muhammadu Buhari Presidency that it is making a headway. In the
2016 rankings, Nigeria scored 28. In 2015, it scored 26. The year
before that, it scored 25. In 2014, the country scored 27 and 25 in
2013.
In 2012, the country’s score was 27 out of 100. According to TI,
higher levels of corruption are common in countries where there is
media and civil society repression.
It explained that majority of countries are moving too slowly in
their anti-corruption efforts, saying that many countries have made
little to no progress in the last six years.
“Even more alarming, further analysis of the index results
indicates that countries with the lowest protections for press and
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also tend to have the worst
rates of corruption,” said TI in a statement.
This latest CPI, said TI,found that more than two-thirds of
countries scored below 50, with an average score of 43.
“Over the last six years, several countries significantly
improved their CPI score, including Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and the
United Kingdom, while several countries declined, including Syria,
Yemen and Australia.
This year, New Zealand and Denmark rank highest with scores of
89 and 88 respectively. Syria, South Sudan and Somalia rank lowest
with scores of 14, 12 and 9 respectively.
Western Europe was ranked the best performing region with an
average score of 66. The worst performing regions are Sub-Saharan
Africa (average score 32) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia
(average score 34).TI stated that almost all journalists killed
since 2012 were killed in corrupt countries.
“No activist or reporter should have to fear for their lives
when speaking out against corruption. Given current crackdowns on
both civil society and the media worldwide, we need to do more to
protect those who speak up,” said Patricia Moreira, TI’s Managing
Director.
TI’s analysis, which used data from the Committee to Protect
Journalists, indicated that over the last six years, more than nine
out of 10 journalists were killed in countries that scored 45 or
less on the CPI. This, said TI, implies that at least a journalist
is killed every week in a country that is highly corrupt. It added
that an average of one in five journalists that died was covering a
story about corruption and majority of the victims never get
justice.
Read more https://nairalaw.com/corruption-getting-worse-in-nigeria-transparency-international-releases-2017/