Nigeria, March 21 -- A United States court has awarded Ghanaian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas $18 million (£14 million) in damages, after a jury said he was defamed by former Ghanaian MP Kennedy Agyapong.

The case stemmed from comments Mr Agyapong made about Mr Anas after his BBC investigation in 2018 that exposed football corruption in Ghana and elsewhere.

The BBC Thursday reported that the court heard that Mr Agyapong called the reporter a "criminal," among other accusations he made against him on a podcast.

The member of parliament also alleged on the podcast that Mr Anas was behind the murder of fellow journalist Ahmed Suale.

Mr Anas had earlier lost a similar legal action in Ghana seven years ago. However, afte...