Gift-Giving, Anti-Bribery Laws and the Nigerian Constitution: Matters Arising

Abstract

This article examines the culture of gift-giving against the background of anti-bribery laws, which preclude gift-giving in certain contexts, and the Code of Conduct for Public Officers which allows gift-giving in other contexts. It identifies what is wrong with bribery and uses this to distinguish between bribery and socio-cultural gift-giving practices in Nigeria. The author argues that the boundary between acceptable gift-giving and bribery is crossed whenever a gift induces or is intended to induce the recipient to perform a relevant function in breach of the expectation to act impartially, in good faith or in a manner that amounts to a betrayal of trust. The article finds that the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, which allows public officers to receive gifts from relatives and personal friends on occasions recognized by custom, dilutes the constitutional objective to eradicate corruption and recommends their removal.