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SERAP’s Report Predicts Increased Corruption Under Buhari …Says Police Most Corrupt Institution In Nigeria
A report by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has predicted increased corruption in the country in the coming year.
The report, “Nigeria Anti-Corruption Performance Assessment Survey,” was presented to the public yesterday in Lagos.
SERAP said it was based on a survey it conducted across the country’s six geo-political zones between November and December 2018.
The report, it said, captured the views of 2,655 Nigerians in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on government’s anti-corruption fight.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is headlined by the fight against corruption.
However, the respondents, whose views were captured in SERAP’s report, believed that corruption level had remained the same and would increase in spite of government’s anti-corruption crusade.
According to the report, the respondents believed that government’s anti-corruption efforts are “inadequate and unconvincing.”
They also hinged their scepticism on the fact that “elections do not result to a different government,” adding that “most leaders are corrupt and only pursue personal interests.”
The report said, “When asked to project the level of corruption in the coming year, about 41 per cent (of respondents) believed it will either increase or remain the same with about third of the respondents expecting corruption levels to increase.”
SERAP said the outcome of the survey should “trigger reflection among the various anti-corruption bodies in Nigeria.”
The group said, “When juxtaposed against the different institutions established and laws and policies currently being implemented, it raises the critical question whether the (anti-corruption) measures are comprehensive enough, consistent or if there is a need to amplify public participation and communication on anti-corruption efforts.”
SERAP said the public perception of government’s anti-corruption war, as reflected by the report, “is likely to dilute public support needed for successful anti-corruption initiatives.”
The report rated the police as the public institution with the highest rate of bribery, based on the judgement of 829 of the respondents, representing 66.6 per cent.
The power sector, education and the judiciary ranked next after the police on the prevalence of bribery.
SERAP, in the report, noted that “The government ascended to power on the promise of tackling corruption.
Meanwhile, a new public survey released, yesterday, by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has revealed high level of corruption in public institutions in Nigeria for the past five years.
Of the five major public institutions surveyed, the police emerged as the most corrupt, with the power sector identified as the second most corrupt in the country, today.
Other public institutions identified as corrupt by 70 per cent of Nigerians surveyed are: the judiciary, education and health ministries.
The survey reveals that the level of corruption has not changed in the last 5 years.
The latest report by SERAP entitled, “Nigeria: Corruption Perception Survey”, was launched, yesterday, at the Sheraton Hotels, Lagos.
According to the survey, “a bribe is paid in 54 per cent of interactions with the police. In fact, there is a 63 per cent probability that an average Nigerian would be asked to pay a bribe each time he or she interacted with the police. That is almost two out of three.”
The Chair of the report launch, Prof Akin Oyebode said: “Nigeria is looked upon as a giant of Africa. Yet, Nigeria could not conduct free, fair and credible elections. It is a smear on the image of Nigeria. If we do away with selective enforcement and condonation of corruption, we will build and live in a better society. Corruption is a refined form of stealing. The politicians are stealing our common patrimony. Development of the people is almost inversely proportional to the level of corruption.”
The report read in part: “Corruption remains a significant impediment to law enforcement, access to justice and basic public services such as affordable healthcare, education, and electricity supply. Several Nigerians have to pay a bribe to access police, judiciary, power, education and health services. Corruption is still a key concern in the country with 70% of Nigerians describing the level of corruption as high and in the same measure, stating that corruption levels either increased or remained the same in the last five years.
“The national survey carried out between September and December, 2018, covered the police, judiciary, power, education and health sectors to assess the state of corruption in law enforcement and public service provision.”
“From the analysis of the anti-corruption legal and institutional framework in Nigeria, the following cross-cutting issues emerged: there is lack of political goodwill to consistently enforce the different anti-corruption laws; inadequate funding for the various anti-corruption agencies; weak public support and/or ownership of anti-corruption initiatives; poor clarity of roles between various anti-corruption agencies; and public perceptions of politicisation of corruption arrests and prosecutions.
“Bribery experiences were interrogated and recorded in the key sectors of education, health, the police, judiciary and power. Data analysis was conducted under five different and interrelated variables. There was a 63 per cent probability that an average Nigerian would be asked to pay a bribe each time he/she interacted with the police. The likelihood of bribery in the power sector stood at 49 per cent. With the chances of encountering bribery at the judiciary, education and health services standing at 27 per cent, 25 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.
“The police were the most adversely ranked on this indicator. For every 100 police interactions reported by the respondents, there was a bribe paid in 54 interactions. The prevalence levels stood at 37 per cent in the power sector and 18 per cent in education, 17.7 per cent in the judiciary and 14 per cent in the health sector.”
According to the report, “51 per cent of the individuals that paid bribes to the police and 35 per cent to the power sector believed this was the only way to access the services sought from the institutions. The ranking of the education sector and the judiciary was less adverse with 16 per cent perceiving bribery as the main avenue of accessing services in the institutions, and health services recording 13 per cent.
“The police and judiciary had the largest proportion of total bribes paid at 33 per cent and 31 per cent respectively. Bribes paid for education, power and health services accounted for 19 per cent, 10.9 and 5 per cent, respectively of all bribes reported. The average amount of bribe paid by the respondents was highest among those who paid to the judiciary at about N108,000 ($298). All the other institutions ranked lower on this variable with N12,253 and N11,566 reportedly paid to the police and education sectors, and N6,462 and N5,143 paid for health and power services, respectively.
“Perceptions on corruption trends in Nigeria show almost 70 per cent of the respondents perceived the current level of corruption as high compared to 15.5 per cent that felt it was low. 70 per cent of the respondents said corruption levels either increased or remained the same in the last five years. Only a quarter of the respondents felt corruption reduced in this period.
“About 41 per cent of the respondents projected that corruption will either increase or remain the same in the next year. About a third of the respondents (31.5 per cent) believed the ruling elite are pursuing their selfish interests only therefore corruption levels will increase into the future.
“Additionally, about a quarter of the respondents (24.9 per cent) believed the current anti-corruption efforts are not comprehensive enough. The poor state of the economy was also seen as a driving factor to increased corruption at 17.2 per cent.
“Respondents identified poor coordination among the different state players as a key obstacle at 18.4 per cent. Lack of political will from the government and weak public support were ranked second at 12 per cent. Civic action against poor governance: 54.8 per cent of the respondents reported that they had not taken any action against poor governance. That more than a half of the respondents were unwilling to initiate action is alarming and points to low confidence levels that appropriate measures would be taken even if the respondents took action.
“This assumption is buttressed by the finding that 82 per cent of the actions taken were either not responded to or deemed sufficiently appropriate. Low civic action may also indicate low levels of public awareness on what redress mechanisms exist or how to access them.
“The Federal government should establish an independent commission of inquiry to conduct a transparent, comprehensive, and impartial investigation into systemic corruption within the Nigeria Police Force, judiciary, and the ministries of power, education and health.
“The Inspector General of Police should receive and investigate complaints of bribery and corruption against police officers filed by members of the public. The police should liaise with community leaders and civil society organisations in regard to incidents of police bribery and corruption within the community.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria and the National Judicial Council should identify and review all outstanding cases of judicial corruption and refer such cases to appropriate anti-corruption agencies. They should apply the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers in a consistent and transparent manner, with full respect for the fundamental guarantees of fair trial and due process.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria and the NJC should publish annual reports of all activities involving the judiciary, including expenditure, and provide the public with reliable information about its governance and organisation, including the number of judges found to be corrupt, as well as ensure that the Chief Justice of Nigeria and all other judges make periodic asset disclosures.
“The National Assembly should move swiftly to amend the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act to ensure public access to asset declarations made by public officials, and urgently pass the Proceeds of Crime Bill, the Whistleblowers Bill, and the Witness Protection Bill among other relevant pieces of legislation.
“The National Assembly should immediately publish all reports of investigations on corruption and corruption-related matters in the judiciary, education, power and health sectors among others that have been conducted by the National Assembly since the return of democracy in 1999.
“A positive legacy by the in-coming administration on May 29, 2019 and the recently appointed Inspector General of Police will mean improving accountability of the police, and proactively working to end all forms of corruption within the rank and file of the police. The Inspector General of Police should streamline and prioritise internal control mechanisms by establishing an Ethics and Integrity Unit at each police station. The unit should include a human rights officer, an anti-corruption officer, and an officer responsible for service delivery complaints.
The exercise, approved by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, on November 7, 2026, is aimed at strengthening command effectiveness, enhancing institutional capacity and sustaining operational readiness.
In a statement yesterday, the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the appointments covered Service Headquarters, operational commands, training institutions and other strategic establishments.
The statement partly read, “The NAF has approved a major strategic realignment of its senior leadership through a fresh round of postings and appointments designed to strengthen command effectiveness, enhance institutional capacity and sustain operational readiness in support of national security objectives.
“The exercise, approved by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, on 7 November 2026, takes effect from November 2026.
“The appointments span Service Headquarters, operational commands, Defence Headquarters, training institutions and other strategic establishments, reflecting a deliberate effort to align leadership competencies and professional experience with the Service’s evolving operational and institutional priorities.”
At the NAF Headquarters, Air Vice Marshal AK Ademuwagun was appointed Chief of Transformation and Innovation, while AVM IV Ajiboye became Superintendent of Standards and Evaluation.
Other appointments include AVM PN Amadi as Chief of Air Intelligence; AVM NN Ananaba as Chief of Operations; AVM AH Bakari as Air Provost Marshal; AVM EE Efiom as Chief of Training; and AVM AJ Laoye as Chief of Aircraft Engineering.
The Air Force also appointed AVM NI Ilo as Air Officer Commanding, Tactical Air Command; AVM BR Mamman as AOC, Mobility Command; AVM OS Ogunsina as AOC, Logistics Command; AVM MN Onyebashi as AOC, Special Operations Command; and AVM FCS Nwakara as AOC, Ground Training Command.
At the institutional level, AVM PB Philips was appointed Commandant of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, while AVM MC Ekwueme became Commandant of the Armed Forces Resettlement Centre.
Similarly, AVM AO Akinbunwa was appointed Commandant of the Air Force War College, while AVM OC Ubadike became Commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Other appointments include AVM AI Sambo as Commandant of the Nigerian Air Force College of Logistics and Management, and AVM M Yusuf as Deputy Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy.
At the Defence Headquarters, AVM UK Abdullahi was appointed Director of Defence Operations, while AVM EOE Ebiowe was posted to the Office of the National Security Adviser as Deputy Coordinator, National Intelligence.
Also, AVM DDG Pwajok was appointed Director of Technical Services at the Defence Intelligence Agency, while AVM I Sani became Deputy Chief of Defence Intelligence.
Other senior officers were posted to various directorates at the Defence Headquarters, including operations, military strategy, cyber operations, civil-military relations, search and rescue, special duties and joint warfare doctrine.
The appointments also affected the Defence Space Administration, where AVM AA Suleh was named Deputy Chief, while AVM OA Oyename and AVM SS Lazarus were appointed Directors of Earth Observation and Launch Vehicles and Space Operations, respectively.
Furthermore, AVM GI Jibia was appointed Deputy Force Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, while AVM JI Ukeh became Commander of the Nigerian Air Defence Corps.
The statement said the exercise was part of efforts to strengthen leadership renewal, institutional accountability and operational effectiveness across the service.
According to the CAS, the professional competence and wealth of experience of the newly appointed officers would advance his command philosophy and strengthen the Air Force’s capacity to deliver decisive airpower effects in support of joint operations and national security objectives.
“All affected officers are expected to assume their new appointments and complete the necessary handover and takeover formalities on or before November 13, 2026,” the statement concluded.
The organisation asked the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, to provide information on beneficiary selection, payments, contracts with digital financial service providers and safeguards against political interference.
SERAP made the demand in a Freedom of Information request dated November 7, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
The request followed the ministry’s October 30 announcement of the NERSI programme, which is intended to provide N50,000 in financial assistance to vulnerable Nigerians.
SERAP said important questions remained unanswered about the programme’s total funding, geographical coverage, duration and the methodology for selecting beneficiaries from the National Social Register and verified national identity records.
It urged the minister to disclose budgetary allocations, funds released and expended, eligibility criteria, beneficiary verification processes and the geographical distribution of recipients.
The organisation also asked the ministry to clarify whether the N50,000 assistance was a one-off payment or a monthly intervention, noting that the ministry’s public statement described it as a monthly payment, while a subsequent frequently asked questions document did not clearly specify the frequency or duration.
In the request, SERAP said, “Nigerians have a right to know how public funds allocated to NERSI are being spent, who is receiving the assistance, how beneficiaries are selected and whether the programme is reaching those most in need.”
The organisation raised concerns about possible political interference in the programme, particularly ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Publicly funded social assistance must be allocated strictly on the basis of genuine need and objective eligibility criteria. It must not be used to reward political supporters, secure partisan loyalty, finance political mobilisation or influence the electoral choices of vulnerable Nigerians, particularly ahead of the 2027 general elections,” it said.
SERAP further insisted that beneficiaries should not be required to attend political rallies, support candidates or display political materials as a condition for receiving the assistance.
“Beneficiaries must not be required or encouraged to attend political rallies, support political parties or candidates, display political materials or demonstrate political loyalty as a condition for receiving assistance. NERSI is a government programme funded with public resources, not a personal gift or political benefit from any office-holder or political party,” the organisation stated.
It also urged the minister to publicly invite the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to monitor the programme’s implementation and expenditure, investigate allegations of corruption and help ensure that funds reach intended beneficiaries.
SERAP expressed concern over reports that some Nigerians who received notifications of the N50,000 assistance had been unable to access or withdraw the funds, while others reportedly received messages indicating that they were ineligible.
“These reports raise questions about the accuracy of beneficiary verification, the reliability of payment arrangements and the effectiveness of mechanisms for resolving failed or disputed payments,” it said.
The organisation urged the ministry to investigate the complaints, publish its findings and ensure that all eligible beneficiaries received the assistance.
It also asked the government to disclose agreements with the digital financial service providers engaged to administer the payments, including ALAT, MoMo PSB, NairaGram, OPay and Moniepoint.
SERAP requested details of the providers’ roles, fees and performance, as well as information on how beneficiaries’ personal data would be protected.
“The use of the National Social Register and national identity records to identify beneficiaries must be governed by clear rules and appropriate data-protection safeguards. The Ministry should disclose how these records are being used and ensure that beneficiaries’ personal information is protected, while making anonymised and aggregated information available for public scrutiny,” it said.
The group further asked the ministry to publish anonymised information showing the number of beneficiaries and the amounts paid or scheduled for payment in each state and local government area.
It also sought records of any involvement of political actors in beneficiary selection, payments, access to beneficiary databases and the use of public resources to promote the programme.
To strengthen accountability, SERAP cited concerns raised by the Auditor-General of the Federation in the 2024 Annual Report regarding more than N78.8bn in public funds allegedly diverted or unaccounted for in the administration of social intervention and cash transfer programmes.
It also referred to concerns over N33.751bn in cash transfers made in 2023 for which relevant REMITA records and other supporting documents were reportedly not provided for audit.
“These findings underscore the importance of adequate financial controls, proper record-keeping, independent verification and effective oversight from the outset of the new intervention,” SERAP said.
The organisation said the information requested would enable Nigerians to assess whether the programme was reaching eligible beneficiaries and whether public funds were being properly accounted for.
It added, “Disclosure would also strengthen public confidence in social protection programmes and help ensure that resources intended for vulnerable Nigerians are used for their intended purposes.”
SERAP gave the minister seven days from receipt or publication of the letter to provide the requested information and take the proposed measures.
It warned that it would consider legal action to compel the ministry and other relevant authorities to fulfil their constitutional and statutory obligations if they failed to respond within the stipulated period.
In a statement posted on X yesterday, Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, described the figures as the product of “Opposition’s propaganda machines.”
He said the claim that 16 past Nigerian leaders borrowed a combined ?46 trillion over 63 years, while Tinubu borrowed ?120 trillion in three years, does not reflect the full picture.
“Opposition’s propaganda machines claim that in 63 years, 16 past Nigerian leaders borrowed ?46 trillion combined, while President Tinubu borrowed ?120 trillion in just 3 years and still removed the fuel subsidy.
“But in reality, the ?46 trillion figure from late 2022 hid ?22.7 trillion in Central Bank ‘Ways and Means’ overdrafts that weren’t officially put on the books until May 2023,” Olusegun stated.
He added that earlier calculations converted foreign debt using an artificial exchange rate of ?448 to $1, when the street value was over ?700.
“When the exchange rate was unified in June 2023, the exact same dollar debt instantly looked ?13.4 trillion larger on paper overnight without a single new dollar being borrowed.”
In actual dollar terms, he said, Nigeria’s public debt rose from $113.4 billion in June 2023 to $120.9 billion by June 2026 — an increase of only $7.5 billion.
On the fuel subsidy, Olusegun noted that its removal had boosted monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee funds shared to states and local governments from ?656 billion in April 2023 to ?2.4 trillion by September 2026.
The claims being rebutted originated from a viral social media graphic that compared cumulative borrowing under previous administrations with the Tinubu government’s record and highlighted the subsidy removal.
Fact-checkers have described the graphic as misleading because the ?46 trillion figure represented outstanding debt at the end of 2022 rather than total borrowing by 16 leaders over 63 years, and because it did not adequately account for exchange-rate effects or the formal recognition of previously off-book obligations.
Nigeria’s total public debt stood at approximately ?87.38 trillion (about $113.4 billion) in June 2023, shortly after Tinubu took office.
By June 2026 it had risen to about ?166.79 trillion ($120.93 billion), according to Debt Management Office figures.
A large part of the naira increase stemmed from the 2023 naira float and the securitisation of Ways and Means advances inherited from the previous administration.
The latest rebuttal comes after Tinubu asked the Senate to approve the implementation of a $7.7bn external borrowing plan to part-finance the 2026 budget deficit.
The request, which translates to about N10.79tn at the budget exchange rate of N1,400 to the dollar, was conveyed in a letter read by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, during Wednesday’s plenary.
The request replaced an earlier approval for $20.52bn and €1.045bn borrowings that the President had asked the Senate and the House of Representatives for a week earlier.
However, opposition parties, including the Nigeria Democratic Congress, criticized the request, citing concerns about the country’s rising debt burden and its implications for future generations.
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