The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, the national chapter of Transparency International, has said that Nigeria made no significant progress in its anti-corruption efforts in 2025, retaining a low score of 26 out of 100 on the Corruption Perceptions Index.
The 2025 CPI report, unveiled on Tuesday in Abuja by CISLAC alongside its accountability partners, showed that Nigeria slipped two places in the global ranking.
The country moved from 140th position in 2024 to 142nd out of the 180 countries surveyed.
“This reflects a stagnation in Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts despite moves by anti-graft agencies and other well-meaning citizens. This result shows that there is a lot to be done to strengthen anti-corruption in Nigeria.
“Although the index does not document specific instances of corruption within the country, it reflects the prevailing perception of corruption in Nigeria.
“Corruption and nepotism remain persistent challenges in Nigeria’s judiciary. Over the years, there have been consistent allegations of bribery involving lawmakers. Oil theft and subsidy fraud continue to exact a heavy toll on Nigeria’s revenue, with persistent losses and limited accountability in the sector,” the organisation’s report partly stated.
CISLAC Executive Director, Auwal Rafsanjani, said Nigeria achieved only marginal gains in a few areas, largely due to improved asset recovery, compliance with international standards, and sustained pressure from civil society groups.
“Despite serious institutional challenges, Nigeria recorded notable progress in asset recovery, international compliance, and civic engagement,” he said.
Rafsanjani described recoveries by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission as positive developments but stressed that they were insufficient to significantly change perceptions of corruption.
He also cited Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025 as a sign of institutional resilience, while maintaining that the CPI score underscored the need for deeper reforms to strengthen transparency and accountability.
Adding to the assessment, Umar Yakubu, Executive Director of the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity, identified enduring weaknesses across critical governance sectors. He listed concerns about judicial integrity, corruption within the legislature, oil theft, and subsidy fraud as major barriers to reform.
“Judicial compromise, extortion within the National Assembly, and persistent subsidy fraud continue to frustrate reforms,” Yakubu said.
He further referred to reports alleging bribery involving lawmakers and large volumes of oil revenue that remain unaccounted for, running into billions of naira and foreign currencies.
From a civil society perspective, Accountability Lab Nigeria’s Storytelling Department Officer, Blessing Anolaba, said corruption continues to thrive amid shrinking civic space and weak accountability mechanisms. She linked the problem to intimidation of journalists, procurement abuses, and opaque practices in public institutions.
“The shrinking civic space and lack of transparency are creating an environment where corruption thrives,” she said.
According to her, attacks on journalists and the suppression of whistleblowers weaken democratic accountability and discourage citizen participation in governance.
Also reacting to the report, the Senior Programme Officer at the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, Folashade Arigbabu, called on the Federal Government to urgently reinforce the independence of key institutions.
She said, “Full autonomy for anti-graft agencies, transparent judicial appointments, and digitised procurement systems.”
Arigbabu also pressed for public access to recovered assets, the passage of the Whistleblower Protection Bill, and the mandatory electronic transmission of election results as measures to curb electoral manipulation and corruption.
The CPI report concluded by emphasising the need for sustained collaboration among government bodies, civil society organisations, and the media to achieve meaningful progress in the fight against corruption.
