In its 2004 report on worldwide corrupt practices, Transparency
International (T. I.) survey covered 146 countries. In that report, Nigeria
was rated the third most corrupt country, beating Haiti and Bangladesh to
the second and last positions respectively. The report was an improvement
over that of 2000 when Nigeria was reported as the most corrupt country
in the world. Statistically, Nigeria’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) was
1.2 in the year 2000, contrasting those of Finland (10.0), Denmark (9.8)
and New Zealand (9.4). Expectedly, Nigeria rose up stoutly to criticize the
2004 T. I. report, pointing out serious defects in the manner the results
were arrived at. These included the following: (T.I. Report 2004)