N400 billion bribe paid in Nigeria in 1 year - NBS

A National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report has revealed that about N400 billion ($4.6 billion) was paid as bribe in Nigeria in 2016, with 92% of it paid in cash.

The survey, supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union (EU),covered the period between June 2015 and May 2016.

In the damning report, it was revealed that bribes were paid 82.3 million times by Nigerians during the one-year period.

In the period covered by the report, officers of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) directly asked for bribes the most, while the most expensive bribes were paid to customs officials, judges and magistrates as well as prosecutors, land registry officers, and representatives of local/state government.

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Doctors working in public hospitals and health centres and public utilities officers were also beneficiaries of bribes in the period under examination.

According to the report, payment of bribes by Nigerians is usually fuelled by the desire to speed up procedures, avoid payment of fines, stop cancellation of public utilities and to receive preferential treatment.

"Corruption is the bane of any progressive society. It stifles entrepreneurship, professionalism and erodes the value of hard work and honesty, and is one of the root causes of under-development in our society.

"Over the years, we have seen the effect of corruption manifesting across all sectors of society, with collusion across the public to private sectors to sports bodies and even civil society," the report revealed.

While the exercise was conducted in 33,067 households in the 36 states of the country, as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, it was discovered that the highest bribe per transaction was paid in the South-East region, while the lowest was paid in the South West.