ICANBusiness, Management and FinanceBusiness Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility2020

Gamma Oil Services Limited, a Nigerian company, pays ₦6,000,000 as a facilitation payment to a government official to expedite a routine export permit. The company argues this is a 'facilitation payment' and not a bribe. Under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), to which Nigeria is a signatory, and the ICPC Act 2000, which statement is CORRECT?

AFacilitation payments are legally permissible under Nigerian law as they do not confer undue advantage
BThe payment constitutes bribery regardless of its characterisation as a facilitation payment, and both the company and the official may be prosecutedCORRECT
COnly the government official can be prosecuted; the company is protected as it was compelled to make the payment
DThe payment is permissible provided it is disclosed in the company's financial statements as a sundry expense
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Why the answer is B, and why the others tempt you.
Nigeria's ICPC Act 2000 and the UNCAC, which Nigeria ratified in 2004, do not recognise 'facilitation payments' as a legal exception to bribery. Any payment made to a public official to perform or expedite a routine duty constitutes an offence, and both the giver and the recipient can be prosecuted. Disclosure in financial statements does not legalise a corrupt payment, and compulsion is not a blanket defence under Nigerian anti-corruption statutes.
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