NBS: Nigerians paid N721bn as bribes to public officials in 2023

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says more than N700 billion was paid in cash as bribes by citizens to public officials in 2023.

In its report, titled, ‘NBS Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends’, the bureau said 70 percent of Nigerians declined to pay bribes at least once in 2023.

Released in Abuja on Thursday, the report said about 76 percent of those who rejected bribes are in the north-west — the highest across the geo-political zones.

“The average cash bribe paid was 8,284 Nigerian Naira (NGN). While the nominal average cash bribe size increased since 2019 (from NGN 5,754), this does not account for inflation,” the report reads.

“The inflation-adjusted average cash bribe in 2023 was actually 29 percent 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 (GDP) of Nigeria.”

The NBS report indicated that 52 percent of all bribes paid to public officials were demanded by them, adding that indirect bribes collected accounted for 23 percent.

“This was followed by facilitate procedure at nine per cent, sign of appreciation at eight per cent and third party request at five per cent,” the survey said.

The data bureau said over 95 percent of all bribes paid in 2023 were paid in form of cash or money transfer.

On corruption, the report said it ranked fourth which is about 10.9 percent of the notable issues that affected the country in 2023.

“Corruption came after the cost of living at 22.6 per cent, insecurity and unemployment at 19 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively,” the report said.

“This suggests relatively stable and high levels of concerns about corruption over time and compared to other concerns such as education or housing.”

The NBS report said Nigerians’ confidence in the government’s anti-corruption efforts has been declining over time and across various regions.

According to the agency, the downward trend in the citizens’ confidence is observable across the entire country, “with all six zones recording reductions of more than 10 percentage points between 2019 and 2023”.

‘WOMEN LESS EXPOSED TO BRIBERY THAN MEN’

The NBS report said women in public offices are less likely to face bribery than men.

The report said 39 percent of men who engaged with public officials either paid bribe or asked to pay but declined.

“The figure for women was significantly lower, at 28 per cent,” the NBS said.

“This overall difference in bribery exposure between men and women is possibly driven by interactions with a few frequently contacted types of public official, in particular police officers, as well as some less frequently contacted types of officials such as members of the armed forces and embassy and consulate officers, to whom men were more likely than women to pay or be asked to pay a bribe.

“Women in Nigeria are less likely to engage in bribery than men irrespective of where they live, their age, educational background and employment status.

“Men are 1.4 times more likely than women to pay or be asked to pay a bribe when interacting with public officials.”

The report said 8.6 percent of Nigerians who had to bribe reported the matter to the authorised institution for investigation.

“This represents a marked increase in the bribery reporting rate since 2019 when it stood at 3.6 per cent,” the report said.

“The increase is primarily driven by developments in the Northern zones, where the bribery reporting rate increased markedly from 4.7 per cent in 2019 to 13.4 per cent in 2023.

“In the Southern zones, the bribery reporting rate instead decreased moderately from 2.5 per cent in 2019 to 1.7 per cent in 2023.

“The largest increases between 2019 and 2023 in the share of citizens who reported bribery cases were recorded by the police, anti-corruption agencies, and the media.”

Increasingly, according to the NBS report, Nigerians are also turning to non-traditional reporting mechanisms, with 68 percent of those reporting bribery cases approaching both official authorities such as the police as well as non-official authorities such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or the media.