Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been acquitted of six bribery-related charges by a jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court, bringing to an end a high-profile corruption case that lasted more than a decade.
The verdict, delivered on Wednesday after over 46 hours of jury deliberations, represents a major setback for British authorities, whose investigation into the former Nigerian oil minister began more than 11 years ago.
Alison-Madueke, 65, who served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 under former President Goodluck Jonathan, was charged with five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Prosecutors alleged that she enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in London funded by oil and gas industry executives seeking to secure lucrative contracts in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
However, the former minister consistently denied all allegations, insisting she neither accepted bribes nor exercised undue influence over the award of oil contracts.
During the trial, her defence team argued that the expenses cited by prosecutors were either reimbursed by the Nigerian government as part of official duties or paid personally by Alison-Madueke. The former minister, who briefly served as President of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, also told the court that she was known as “Madame Due Process” because of her insistence on transparency in contract awards.
In a statement issued after the verdict, her lawyer said Alison-Madueke was grateful to the jury for its decision.
According to the statement, the former minister had “unnecessarily endured the ordeal of being separated from her family for over 11 years.”
The lawyer added that the acquittal would allow her to resume her private and public life with her reputation restored.
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The UK’s National Crime Agency had yet to issue an official reaction to the judgment as of press time.
Alison-Madueke’s tenure in office was marked by several controversies and investigations involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. She left office following the defeat of the Jonathan administration in the 2015 presidential election.
Beyond the UK proceedings, she had also faced scrutiny from United States authorities, who alleged that proceeds from improperly awarded oil contracts were laundered through the U.S. financial system.
While British prosecutors did not accuse her of awarding contracts unlawfully, they argued that it was improper for a public official to accept benefits from individuals with business interests in the sector.
The U.S. Department of Justice had earlier alleged in 2017 that Alison-Madueke used her influence to facilitate the award of lucrative oil contracts to executives who allegedly provided her with financial benefits.
Also standing trial alongside the former minister was oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who faced one count of bribery involving Alison-Madueke and another count relating to the bribery of a foreign public official.
In addition, Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama, 69, was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with payments allegedly made to his church.
Both Ayinde and Agama denied the allegations against them and were acquitted by the jury.
The verdict brings to a close one of the most closely watched corruption trials involving a former Nigerian public official in the United Kingdom.