Nigeria

A top Nigerian politician from the ruling party has been sentenced to two-and-half years for corruption. Olabode George was accused of inflating contracts and abusing public funds worth USD 500 million when he ran the Nigerian ports authority. The BBC's Caroline Duffield in Lagos says George was seen as one of the untouchables among the Nigerian elite. George was found guilty on 35 counts of 68 separate offences, all of them relating to abuse of public funds. The five others, who worked with him in the Nigerian Ports Authority, were also found guilty on numerous charges. Charges include conspiracy, disobedience of lawful orders, inflation of contracts and an offense known as "contract splitting." (BBC)