Despite several challenges faced by people living with disabilities in Nigeria, they are just as likely to be asked for bribes by corrupt public officials, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). 

In a report published on Thursday detailing corruption patterns and trends in Nigeria for 2023, the NBS highlighted that “bribery represents a unique challenge for people living with disabilities.” 

The NBS survey revealed no significant difference in the likelihood of bribery between those with disabilities and those without. 

“People living with disabilities were found to be no less likely to pay or be asked to pay a bribe when interacting with public officials than people without disabilities,” NBS said.

It further stated that “34 per cent of people living without disabilities were exposed to bribery in 2023, whereas the figure was 32 per cent among people living with disabilities. The rate of contact with public officials is about the same regardless of the type of disability.”

The survey also records a staggering N721 billion in bribes collected by Nigerian public officials, while the frequency of bribery incidents stood at 5.1 per cent in 2023. 

“More than NGN 700 billion in cash bribes were paid by citizens to public officials in 2023,” the NBS said. “Overall, it is estimated that a total of roughly NGN 721 billion (US$1.26 billion) was paid in cash bribes to public officials in Nigeria in 2023, corresponding to 0.35 per cent of the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria.”