US scandal triggers crisis in Nigeria gov't

ABC News: The Blotter

Nigerian officials say the bribery investigation of Congressman William Jefferson (D-La.) has uncovered a massive corruption scheme involving several members at the highest levels of the Nigerian government.

Acting on information provided by the FBI, Nigerian fraud investigators have now indicted Vice President Atiku Abubakar on 14 counts of corruption, involving tens of millions of dollars allegedly diverted from government accounts.

According to Nuhu Ribadu, head of a new anti-corruption squad created by Nigeria's president, $23 million of the diverted money is still missing. Ribadu said $6.7 million of the missing funds has been traced to a U.S. company tied to Congressman Jefferson's family.