Nigeria corruption hearings open

In the first case brought by Nigeria's anti-corruption commission, three senior officials have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

One of the accused Mika Anache was a member of an official panel set up by the government to investigate the management of the state-run airline, Nigeria Airways.

He is accused of receiving money to influence the outcome of the hearings, and the three others are accused of paying him.

One of them was not present in court, and has yet to plead. The commission was set up last year by President Olusegun Obasanjo as part of his attempts to stamp out corruption in a country which correspondents say is regularly voted one of the most corrupt in the world.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service