A significant 70 per cent of Nigerians have refused to pay bribe when asked to by corrupt officials in 2023, the National Corruption Survey by the Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT), has revealed.
The report which was presented by the IATT, in collaboration with African Union (AU), European Union (EU), Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (RoLAC), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), MacArthur Foundation and Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), was presented in Abuja on Thursday at a seminar to commemorate the 2024 edition of the Anti-corruption Day with the theme, “Effective Whistleblowers Protection Mechanism: A Critical Tool in the Fight against
Corruption.”
Arise News reports that the survey is a report on the Third Corruption Survey in Nigeria undertaken by the UNODC in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
At the event, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), called for protection of whistleblowers, saying it is crucial for the success of anti-corruption detection and enforcement.
The Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of NBS, Adeyemi Adeniran, said there is a notable increase in the rate of bribery reporting, rising from 3.6 per cent in 2019 to 8.6 per cent in 2023.
Adeniran said the development reflected the growing awareness and willingness among Nigerians to confront corruption, and the positive impact of the efforts of anti-corruption agencies in raising awareness, including getting Nigerians to report any incidence.
He said, “Of the total number of bribery cases reported, 65 per cent of the cases were reported to the Police, while 28 per cent were reported to Anti-corruption agencies. The results also revealed a significant increase in the level of actions taken as a consequence of reporting. Out of the total cases reported by citizens, in 45 per cent of the cases, a formal procedure was initiated against the officer, this is an increase from 16 per cent in 2019, showing a huge commitment to dealing with cases of infraction.”
Adeniran said the purpose of the survey or any other statistical exercise undertaken by the Bureau, was never to castigate or point fingers at any individual or institution, but rather to present statistical evidence that can aid in taking the necessary steps to improve the quality of public service available to Nigerians while enhancing the trust in the relationship between the citizens and public offices.
Fagbemi called on the National Assembly to quickly pass the Whistleblowing Protection Bill proposed in 2019.
According to him, effective whistleblowing mechanism can curb corruption in the areas of fraud, money laundering, terrorism financing, breach of international sanctions, inappropriate use of company resources, conflict of interest, insider trading, infractions to competition and antitrust laws,
infringement of personal data protection laws, harassment or discrimination in the workplace.
According to him, the Federal Government is planning to review and amend the Procurement Act to block leakages for persons involved in corruption.
The AGF said, “The present administration is planning to review and amend Procurement Act to block the loopholes for persons who facilitate
corruption. A lot of mechanisms have been developed to ensure
that corruption gaps in MDAs are blocked. Furthermore, government has putin place guidelines and regulations to ensure budgetary provisions are adhered to and supervisory
roles enhanced.”
While expressing disagreement on some aspects of the survey report, the Minister said the conclusion appears to be premised on a pre-conceived notion that public officials are
corrupt, so the lesser the contact with public officials the lower the corruption index.
“Surely this conclusion cannot be said to be an absolute truth. The conclusion takes away the professionalism of the Public Service and the impact of key Government reforms and initiatives of government like the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021 –2025, its enablers and core values”, Fagbemi added.
The Chairman, of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, lamented that seven years after the launch of the whistleblowing policy, it had lost momentum and failed to sustain the impact that followed its launch.
He blamed the development to a combination of factors ranging from policy flaws to implementation hiccups, saying in the area of policy, stakeholders within the anti-corruption community have faulted the absence of a legal framework for the programme.
According to him, absence of a whistleblower protection law for instance, exposed whistleblowers to victimization and even threat of violent attacks.
He recalled instances where public officers who provided whistleblowing information on corrupt practices in their establishments were sacked or denied promotion by superiors.
The EFCC boss argued that reviving the lost momentum of the Whistleblowing policy calls for radical recalibration of the programme to address the identified ambiguities and other weaknesses, adding that the starting point is to emplace a legal framework for whistleblowing including a whistleblower protection law.
“I understand that a bill on whistleblower protection is before the National Assembly. It is my hope that this bill which accommodates measures that cover the gaps in the whistleblower policy will be given the desired attention and passed expeditiously. Whistleblower protection should be broadened to include protection for insiders in various organs of government who expose wrongdoings from within”, he added.
The Deputy Country Representative of UNODC, Danilo CAMPISI, said Nigeria is making progress in the fight against corruption.
He said, “As we see from the presentation by NBS, there is indeed very positive progress. Firstly,
citizens are calling for a change by fighting back. 70% of Nigerians who were asked to pay a bribe refused to do so on at least one occasion, and at least 42% of respondents refused to pay a bribe because it was the “right thing to do.” Additionally, the percentage of those who were willing to report incidents of bribery more than doubled from 3.6% in
2019 to 8.6% in 2023. This is indeed progress.
“Secondly, the government is listening by improving its processes, and we are beginning to see results from the efforts they are making. For example, the rate of those who experienced negative consequences when refusing the payment of a bribe reduced
considerably from 49% in 2019 to 38% in 2023.
“Willingness to report can also be
attributed to greater accessibility to complaint channels as well as increased readiness of institutions to take such complaints seriously and to initiate a formal procedure.
“As revealed, the share of bribery reports that led to the initiation of a formal procedure against public officials increased nearly threefold between 2019 and 2023, from 16% to 45%,
while the share of those who experienced no follow-up after reporting reduced from 34% to 17%. Again, this is great progress.”
The chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other-Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), called on the National Assembly to pass the Whistleblowers Protection Bill.
“I am appealing to the National Assembly to pass robust whistleblower protection laws, as exemplified by international best practices, which is essential. Such legislation should ensure the anonymity, safety, and rights of whistleblowers, extending protections to those in both public and private sectors. By doing so, Nigeria can bolster its anti-corruption efforts, safeguard the constitutional rights of its citizens, and promote a culture of transparency and accountability across all levels of society”, he said.
Friday Olokor,
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