Top Nigerian senator guilty of stealing $19.6m
Prominent Nigerian senator Orji Uzor Kalu has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of 39 fraud charges amounting to $19.6m (£14.9m).
Kalu is a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress and a chief whip in the federal parliament’s upper house.
He was accused, along with a company he controlled and another individual, of diverting state money while he was the governor of the south-eastern Abia state between 1999 and 2007.
The charges were brought by the country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the case began in 2007.
Kalu appeared shaken in court and asked officials not to handcuff him as they led him out, The Punch newspaper reports.
President Buhari has pledged to stamp out corruption, but has achieved mixed success.
YouTuber arrested for criticising Moroccan king
A Moroccan social media influencer has appeared in court after he posted criticism of both King Mohammed VI and the general public.
Mohamed Sekkaki, whose YouTube commentaries attract tens of thousands of viewers, had said that the king’s speeches were useless.
He also described his fellow citizens as ignorant, saying they watched their rights being flouted without saying a word.
The public prosecutor’s office said Mr Sekkaki had been arrested following several complaints from citizens about the “insults and degrading descriptions” in a video, AFP news agency reports”
In Morocco, the king is regarded as being beyond public criticism, and the charges Mr Sekkaki faces include showing contempt for the country’s institutions.
Last month, Moroccan rapper Gnawi was jailed for a year after a row with the police, but his fans believe he was being persecuted for a song that was critical of the monarchy.
Source: BBC Africa
