How Nigerians Paid ₦721 Billion in Bribes to Prosecutors, Police Officers, Other Public Officials

Corruption is most often considered one of the major challenges facing Nigeria and hindering Africa’s most populous country from achieving immense economic success despite an abundance of natural resources.

A recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has validated this widely held belief, as Nigerians consider corruption the fourth most important problem affecting the country, after the cost of living, insecurity, and unemployment.

The report, released on Thursday, July 11, and titled “Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends” analysed corruption patterns in Nigeria in the 12 months prior to 2023.

In the last four years ending in 2023, the report stated that there has been an insignificant but statistically modest decrease in the frequency of bribe-paying since 2019. While 117 million bribes were paid in 2019, the number of bribes paid in 2023 dropped to 87 million.

But corruption, particularly in the public sector, remains high; a total of ₦721 billion were paid as bribes to public officials.

How Prosecutors, Land Registry Officers, Customs Officers, Lawmakers, Demand Bribes From Nigerians

Although bribes in the private sector recorded an alarming increase from 6 percent in 2019 to 14 percent in 2023, public sector bribery is still twice as high compared to the private sector.

“The increase in private sector bribery between 2019 and 2023 was observed across all regions and all types of private employees. Despite this increase, the prevalence of bribery in the public sector remains approximately twice as high as in the private sector,” the report stated.

At least 27 percent of Nigerians who had at least one contact with a public official paid a bribe. Although this is a decrease from the 29 percent estimated in 2019, the prevalence of bribery in Nigeria’s justice system (prosecutors and judges/magistrates), the legislative arm of government, and the police force, remains a major concern that should unnerve citizens.

“Across almost all types of public officials, the prevalence of bribe payment (excluding refusals) increased between 2019 and 2023,” the report stated.

What this means is that the number of cases where a public official asked for a bribe and received it increased within the time under review.

This prevalence increase in bribery was found highest among prosecutors, land registry officers, and customs/immigration officers.

In 2023, bribery, without refusals, was highest for prosecutors at 62 percent. Bribery among land registry officers and judges/magistrates was estimated at 53 percent and 50 percent respectively, while customs/immigration officers were estimated at 48 percent.

Another section of public officers susceptible to bribery were embassy/consulate officers (48 percent), members of Parliament (46 percent), and police officers (39 percent).

More Nigerians Are Refusing To Pay Bribes

In 2019, while 29 percent of the population said that bribe requests are acceptable in order to speed up administrative procedures, the number fell to 23 percent in 2023.

Not only are more Nigerians now viewing bribes as a social vice, but even more are refusing to pay, as 70 percent of those asked to pay a bribe refused to do so at least on one occasion.

Another warming pattern witnessed is that more residents have grown the courage to report bribes when they are asked to do so.

“In 2023, out of all citizens who paid a bribe, 8.6 percent reported their experience to an official institution capable of investigating or otherwise following up and acting on that report. This represents a marked increase in the bribery reporting rate since 2019 when it stood at 3.6 percent,” the report stated.

Yet, 91.4 percent of bribes or bribe requests go unreported, an alarming figure that shows that the majority of Nigerians are either afraid to report such crimes or feel that nothing would be done if they report it.

While noting that the increase in bribes as recorded in the private sector should not be overlooked, the report recommended measures that the government should take in tackling some of the high-prone corruption segments in the public sector.

“The survey provided new and more accurate insights into the locations of corruption, giving additional information to further refine and guide preventive and enforcement actions.”

Given the precedence that the absolute majority of bribery transactions occur either on the streets (36 percent) or in public offices (35 percent), the report suggested increased scrutiny towards those institutions and agents policing the streets, and installing CCTV systems in public offices could have a significant impact in reducing corruption.