He apparently feared that the Nigerian government would bow to pressure from the US to hand him over to the UN-backed court to stand trial.

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Fifa, aware that football's presence in the Olympics has long been a source of discomfort both within the game and among other sports, has been keen to find an alternative to the under-23 model, and will not have been happy to bow to pressure from the IOC.

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They might also bow to union pressure to block Walmart from entering the local market, flouting polls showing that two-thirds of the city want the retailer's low prices.

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The Chinese, who are not known to bow to pressure or follow commands (especially from the U.S.), set a higher peg that day.

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Kim thinks LG will benefit from being the first chaebol to bow to government pressure.

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Mr Uribe faced much pressure to bow to the FARC's demands, both from the hostages' families and, less understandably, from France. (At Mr Sarkozy's request he freed a jailed guerrilla leader who has returned to action.) Ms Betancourt's mother was particularly bitter in her criticism of the president during her tireless campaign for her daughter's release.

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