General News
Nigeria, Others Lose $947Bn to Corruption, Tax Evasion
Nigeria and some other developing countries lost a total of $946.7 billion to corruption, trade mis-invoicing and tax evasion in 2011, with amount being spirited away growing larger with each passing year.
Nigeria alone lost $142.27 billion to the unsavoury practices during the period, according to a recent report by Global Financial Integrity, a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
Money lost to corruption in these developing nations was 13.7 per cent higher in 2011 than the figure in the previous year.
Illicit outflows totaled $832.4 billion in 2010, while the cumulative figure between 2002 and 2011 amounted to about $5.9 trillion.
The report explained that “illicit flows are all unrecorded private financial outflows involving capital that is illegally earned, transferred, or utilized, generally used by residents to accumulate foreign assets in contravention of applicable capital controls and regulatory frameworks.”
The report added that this exodus of funds constitutes “a major source of domestic resource leakage, which drains foreign exchange, reduces tax collections, restricts foreign investments, and worsens poverty in the poorest developing countries.”
In other words, those hundreds of billions of dollars could have been used to fund anything from food security to healthcare to education.
“Instead they have been squandered in shady trade deals, illegal tax havens and crooked investments. Trade mis-invoicing was the biggest driver of losses, accounting for 79.7 percent of illicit outflows.”
In terms of pure volume, the countries with the biggest illicit outflows in 2011 are those with relatively large economies; Russia tops the list with $191.14 billion, followed by China with $151.35 billion, and India with $84.93 billion.
In Africa, the continent’s largest economy, South Africa, was the worst offender with $23.73 billion in losses. Next is oil-rich Nigeria, where corruption cost $12.89 billion.
In terms of GDP percentages, sub-Saharan Africa is faring the worst. Countries there lost an average 5.7 percent of total GDP each year from 2002 to 2011, while the global average was just 4 per cent.
Because sub-Saharan African economies are relatively small, it is still the region with the lowest total value of illicit outflows from 2002 to 2011: a cumulative $419.1 billion, which is just 7.7 per cent of the total amount lost to all developing countries during the same time period, but the growth of that loss on a year-by-year basis is among the world’s highest at 20.2 per cent, second only to the Middle East and North Africa, where an average 31.5 per cent annual increase in illegal outflow is largely due to rising oil prices.
These findings have grave implications for sub-Saharan Africa, where 48.5 per cent of the population lived on less than $1.25 a day in 2010. The region’s massive losses mean that less funds are available for sorely needed investments in infrastructure and development. For that reason, says the report, corruption, tax evasion and shady trading practices have “an outsized impact on the continent.”
GFI’s findings are important not only for developing countries, but for aid donors as well. The amount lost to illicit outflows in 2011 amounts to an incredible 10 times the amount that came in as official development assistance.
The report recommends that developed and developing countries work together to improve transparency and strengthen financial regulatory systems, which would help poorer nations make better use of their own assets in order to improve the lives of their citizens.
Brian LeBlanc, GFI economist and co-author of the report, said: “The way forward will involve measures to verify ownership of trusts and shell companies, reforms to customs protocols in order to discourage trade misinvoicing, initiatives to digitize exchanges of tax information across borders, and efforts to hold money-launderers more accountable in courts of law.
“Unless these changes happen and fast, the world’s poorest countries will continue to lose huge amounts of funds that could have been used for much-needed development.
“Poor countries hemorrhaged nearly a trillion dollars from their economies in 2011 that could have been invested in local businesses, health care, education, or infrastructure.
“This is nearly a trillion dollars that could have been used to help pull people out of poverty and save lives. Without concrete action, the drain on the developing world is only going to grow larger,” said Le Blanc.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has issued an interim Mareva injunction freezing copyright levy funds due to the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN).
The order prevents the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and at least 20 commercial banks from disbursing these funds until further court proceedings.
The injunction stems from Suit No. FHC/L/CS/207/2026, following an ex parte application filed on February 5, 2026, by the Record Label Proprietors’ Initiative on behalf of 11 major record labels and music companies.
Plaintiffs include industry heavyweights such as Mavin Records, Davido Music Worldwide, Chocolate City Music, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Africa, and Warner Music South Africa.
The plaintiffs, through their attorney, sought to restrain the CBN from releasing any copyright levy funds related to sound recordings earmarked for MCSN.
They also asked the court to bar MCSN and its agents from accessing, transferring, or using the funds, whether received directly from the CBN or routed through commercial banks.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the House of Representatives Spouses Association (HORSA), organized a specialized two‑day digital literacy and capacity‑building workshop for the spouses of members of the House of Representatives.
The initiative, themed “Empowering Women for a Digital Future: Leadership, Wellbeing, and Opportunity,” is designed to equip spouses of lawmakers with the tools needed to navigate the modern digital economy and the unique demands of public life.
Moving beyond basic computer literacy, the workshop offers a comprehensive suite of skills, including financial and digital literacy—focused on using digital tools for business growth and personal finance management; cybersecurity and digital wellbeing—promoting online safety, data protection, and mental health resilience; and economic empowerment—unlocking opportunities in remote work, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), and digital entrepreneurship.
Declaring the workshop open on behalf of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, PhD, the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, said the workshop underscores the crucial role spouses play in supporting public office holders. He described spouses as trusted advisers whose understanding of legislative responsibilities helps lawmakers perform more effectively.
He noted that the demanding nature of legislative work often places strain on family life, adding that empowering spouses with digital and leadership skills would strengthen their capacity to provide informed support and constructive feedback to their partners in public service. He urged participants to take full advantage of the training, stressing that continuous learning is essential in an increasingly digital world.
Kalu further observed that many spouses already lead humanitarian and development initiatives in their communities, and that the skills gained from the programme would enhance communication, strategic planning, and resource mobilisation, thereby deepening their contribution to community development and national growth.
In his welcome address, the NITDA Director‑General, Kashifu Inuwa, said the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s drive to build a sustainable digital economy by ensuring that no group is excluded from digital opportunities due to skills gaps. He noted that the Renewed Hope Agenda of Bola Ahmed Tinubu places digitalisation and innovation at the heart of economic diversification and inclusive growth.
He added that NITDA is implementing a national digital literacy framework aimed at achieving 95 per cent digital literacy by 2030, driven through three key focus areas: integrating digital skills into formal education, upskilling public servants, and expanding community‑level digital inclusion.
Inuwa described women as critical drivers of Nigeria’s digital transformation, noting that empowering spouses of lawmakers with digital skills would strengthen leadership at home and positively influence legislative processes at the National Assembly. He explained that NITDA is working with the Ministry of Education and global technology partners to train teachers nationwide, while over 54,000 public servants are currently enrolled in the Agency’s digital literacy programmes.
He also stated that through community champions deployed across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, millions of Nigerians are being reached annually with basic digital skills training, stressing that national leaders must not be left behind in Nigeria’s digital transition. According to him, digitally literate spouses can play a vital role in encouraging technology‑driven governance, including ongoing efforts to digitise legislative processes.
In her goodwill message, the Leader of HORSA and wife of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hajiya Fatima Tajudeen Abbas, described the workshop as a historic milestone and the first comprehensive capacity‑building programme organised by the 10th Assembly for spouses of lawmakers. She noted that public life in a digital age now extends beyond physical spaces into online platforms, making digital and financial literacy, cyber protection, and digital wellbeing essential skills for spouses of national leaders.
Hajiya Abbas emphasised that the sessions on mental health, emotional resilience, entrepreneurship, and leadership were timely, as spouses of public office holders often shoulder invisible emotional responsibilities. According to her, empowering women economically strengthens families and communities, adding that the knowledge gained from the workshop would not only support lawmakers behind the scenes but also enable women to contribute more meaningfully to national development in the digital economy.
The event also featured goodwill messages and contributions from senior government officials, including the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim; the Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses’ Forum, Prof. (Mrs.) Olufolake Abdulrazaq; the Chairman of the House Committee on ICT, Hon. Stanley Olajide; the Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Kafilat Ogbara; and the Managing Director of the South-South Development Commission, Usoro Offiong Akpabio.
PalmPay is thrilled to announce the first set of winners of its highly anticipated Valentine-themed #LoveWithPalmPay campaign, following a week of receiving entries from users across the country, celebrating their real love stories shaped by simple money moments.
The #LoveWithPalmPay, a two-week campaign which started on the 9th of February until the 21st of February, has unveiled the first set of four (4) couples who shared their heartfelt stories of how PalmPay has positively impacted their relationships, from seamless transfers and bill payments to shared savings goals, dates, and everyday financial support.
The first batch of selected winners are:
- Abdulsalam Aishat Omowumi ( Facebook)
- Symply Omotoshan (Instagram)
- Unusual_aaron (Tiktok)
- MTN_DATA_VENDOR (X)
Speaking on the campaign, Olorunfemi Hanson, the Head of Marketing of PalmPay, stated, “We are using the campaign to appreciate our over 35 million users and the many ways they use the PalmPay app to make life seamless. The four (4) couples, each rewarded with ₦100,000, were chosen based on how effectively they highlighted PalmPay’s features and demonstrated how the platform helped their everyday payments be reliable and seamless.
PalmPay noted that with the campaign still ongoing, four (4) more couples will be announced in the coming days, encouraging more users to continue sharing their love stories using the hashtag #LoveWithPalmPay on PalmPay’s social media platforms.
The campaign reinforces PalmPay’s commitment to creating financial solutions that not only simplify transactions but also bring people closer through meaningful, everyday money moments.
PalmPay is a leading digital banking platform driving financial inclusion and economic empowerment in underserved emerging markets. Through its secure, user-friendly, and inclusive suite of financial services, PalmPay empowers individuals and businesses with tools to manage and grow their money.
PalmPay offers a comprehensive range of products, including mobile payments, savings, and micro-insurance via its app and mobile money agent network.
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