A London court has acquitted former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, of all criminal charges brought against her in a high-profile corruption trial that lasted several months.
The verdict was delivered on Wednesday at Southwark Crown Court, where a jury found Alison-Madueke not guilty of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
The former minister, who served under the administration of Goodluck Jonathan between 2010 and 2015, had been accused by British prosecutors of receiving lavish benefits, including luxury accommodation, expensive shopping trips, and other gifts from oil industry figures allegedly seeking favourable treatment in the award of petroleum contracts.
Throughout the trial, Alison-Madueke denied all allegations, insisting she neither requested nor accepted bribes while in office. She maintained that her actions were lawful and that many of the expenses cited by prosecutors were either official expenditures or personally funded.
The case, which stemmed from investigations launched more than a decade ago by British authorities, was regarded as one of the United Kingdom's most significant anti-corruption prosecutions involving a foreign political figure. However, after deliberating for several weeks, the jury cleared Alison-Madueke and her co-defendants of all charges.
Also acquitted were Nigerian oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde and Alison-Madueke's brother, Doye Agama, who had faced related allegations in the case.
Reacting to the judgment, Alison-Madueke expressed relief, describing the verdict as the end of an 11-year legal ordeal. The ruling is seen as a significant setback for British investigators who had spent years pursuing the case.
Despite the acquittal in the UK criminal proceedings, various asset recovery and civil forfeiture actions linked to allegations of corruption during her tenure have previously been pursued in multiple jurisdictions, including Nigeria and the United States.
Background
Alison-Madueke became Nigeria's Minister of Petroleum Resources in 2010 and later served as the first female president of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Since leaving office in 2015, she has been the subject of several investigations relating to alleged corruption and money laundering, allegations she has consistently denied.
