Nigeria has recorded no significant progress in its anti-corruption efforts, scoring 26 out of 100 in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), according to the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the Nigerian chapter of Transparency International.
The latest Transparency International CPI report, unveiled Tuesday in Abuja by CISLAC and its accountability partners, shows that Nigeria dropped two places in the global ranking — moving from 140th position in 2024 to 142nd out of 180 countries surveyed in 2025.
Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption Efforts Stagnant
CISLAC stated that the latest ranking reflects persistent challenges in Nigeria’s fight against corruption, despite efforts by anti-graft agencies and civil society actors.
According to the organisation, the score highlights stagnation in anti-corruption reforms, noting that while the CPI does not measure specific corruption cases, it reflects global perceptions of corruption within the country.
The report identified major governance concerns, including:
Judicial corruption and nepotism
Allegations of bribery involving lawmakers
Oil theft and subsidy fraud
Weak accountability in public institutions
Revenue leakages running into billions of naira
CISLAC stressed that corruption in Nigeria’s judiciary and legislature continues to undermine public trust and democratic governance.
Asset Recovery and FATF Grey List Exit Offer Marginal Gains
CISLAC Executive Director, Auwal Rafsanjani, acknowledged limited improvements in certain areas, particularly in:
Asset recovery efforts
Compliance with international anti-corruption standards
Civic engagement and civil society advocacy
He described recoveries made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) as positive but insufficient to significantly improve Nigeria’s corruption perception score.
Rafsanjani also pointed to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in October 2025 as evidence of institutional resilience. However, he emphasised that deeper reforms are required to strengthen transparency and accountability mechanisms.
Governance Weaknesses Persist Across Key Sectors
Umar Yakubu, Executive Director of the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity, highlighted systemic governance weaknesses, including:
Compromise within the judiciary
Extortion allegations in the National Assembly
Persistent subsidy fraud
Massive unaccounted oil revenues
Yakubu warned that these issues continue to frustrate reform efforts and undermine fiscal transparency.
Shrinking Civic Space Fuels Corruption
From a civil society perspective, Accountability Lab Nigeria raised concerns about shrinking civic space and weakened accountability frameworks.
Blessing Anolaba, the organisation’s Storytelling Department Officer, linked corruption to:
Intimidation of journalists
Suppression of whistleblowers
Procurement irregularities
Opaque public sector practices
She noted that attacks on media practitioners and reduced transparency discourage citizen participation and weaken democratic oversight.
SERAP Calls for Institutional Reforms
Reacting to the CPI findings, Folashade Arigbabu, Senior Programme Officer at the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), urged the Federal Government to strengthen institutional independence.
She called for:
Full autonomy for anti-graft agencies
Transparent judicial appointments
Digitised and transparent procurement systems
Public access to recovered assets
Passage of the Whistleblower Protection Bill
Mandatory electronic transmission of election results
According to her, these reforms are essential to curb electoral manipulation, strengthen accountability, and restore public confidence in governance.
Need for Stronger Collaboration in Anti-Corruption Fight
The 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index report concluded that meaningful progress in Nigeria’s anti-corruption fight will require sustained collaboration between:
Government institutions
Civil society organisations
The media
International accountability partners
Despite marginal gains in asset recovery and international compliance, the overall CPI score underscores the urgent need for structural reforms to address systemic corruption in Nigeria.
