Nigerian who stole $145M pays fine to avoid prison

(AP) A court in Nigeria has sentenced a man who once helped oversee the nation's police pension to two years in prison over the theft of $145 million from the fund. However, he has avoided serving any time by paying a fraction of that in fines.

John Yakubu Yusufu pleaded guilty Monday in a Federal High Court in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but avoided being imprisoned as he paid a $14,000 fine. He went home Monday a free man after also promising to forfeit another $2 million.

The sentence immediately caused an outcry in Nigeria, a nation where corruption pervades government and private life.