The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that at least N87million bribes were paid to Nigerian public and private officials in 2023.
The Bureau in its July 2024 third survey on corruption as experienced by the population titled ‘Corruption In Nigeria: Patterns And Trends’, said that of all Nigerian citizens who had at least one contact with a public official in the 12 months prior to the 2023 survey, 27 percent paid a bribe to a public official.
According to the report, “In 2023, 5.1 bribes were paid on average by each bribe payer in Nigeria in the 12 months prior to the survey.
“This represents a modest and statistically insignificant decrease in the frequency of bribe-paying from 2019, when on average 5.4 bribes were paid by each bribe payer.
“It is estimated that some 87 million bribes were paid in 2023. The frequency of bribery is, on average, higher in rural areas than in urban areas.
“In 2023, bribe-payers living in urban areas paid on average 4.5 bribes, while those living in rural areas paid on average 5.8 bribes.
“Out of all Nigerian citizens who had at least one contact with a public official in the 12 months prior to the 2023 survey, 27 per cent paid a bribe to a public official.”
The NBS stated that as reported by Nigerians, corruption ranked 4th among the most important problems affecting the country in 2023, after the cost of living, insecurity and unemployment.
It stated, “This suggests relatively stable and high levels of concerns about corruption over time and compared to other concerns such as education or housing.”
According to the Bureau, 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 less than a third of all citizens.
“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 in terms of the share of citizens who thought the government was effective in fighting corruption,” it stated.
