Nigerians paid out almost $500m in bribes to public officials during the course of 2023

NIGERIANS paid out a total of N721bn ($465.18m) in bribes to corrupt public officials during the course of 2023 according to recent statistics just unveiled by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In what is a damning indictment of the Nigerian public for being complicit in the country's socio-economic woes, the NBS report was titled Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and trends. Released yesterday, it indicated that more than 95% of all bribes Nigerians paid in 2023 were in monetary form.

In addition, the report also showed that Nigerians’ confidence in the government’s anti-corruption effort declined during the review period. Also, the report revealed that private sector bribery increased from 6% of citizens who had at least one contact with a private sector actor in 2019 to 14% in 2023.

“Overall, it is estimated that a total of roughly N721bn was paid in cash bribes to public officials in Nigeria in 2023, corresponding to 0.35% of the entire gross domestic product (GDP).  In 2023, bribes paid in a public official’s office and the street accounted for around 35% and 36% of all paid bribes, respectively.

“Some 11% of bribes were paid in the respondents’ own homes, while 7% were paid in public buildings such as restaurants, malls, or stations. In 2023, the largest share of Nigerian citizens that had contact with health care professionals and public utility officers for bribery was at 30% and 24% respectively.

“Police officers came third, with a contact rate of 20%. 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 report added.