NIGERIA has cancelled a contract with Siemens and suspended dealings with the German telecoms firm pending an investigation into bribery allegations. SIEMENS was found guilty of paying bribes to Nigerian officials and fined 201m euros ($248m; £122.3m) by a Munich court on 4 October. A Nigerian anti-corruption agency has since begun investigating former ministers alleged to have taken bribes. Nigeria has often been ranked as one of the world’s most corrupt countries. President Umaru Yar’Adua took office in May this year, pledging to fight corruption.

Mr Yar’Adua ordered the investigation into allegations that Siemens paid 10m euros in bribes to officials, including ministers, in Nigeria between 2001 and 2004. The ministers and officials named have denied the allegations.