A London court on Wednesday acquitted former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, of all bribery charges brought against her in a closely watched corruption trial that stemmed from allegations dating back more than a decade.
The verdict was delivered at Southwark Crown Court after jurors returned unanimous not-guilty verdicts on six counts, including five charges of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Alison-Madueke, 65, who served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, had consistently denied any wrongdoing throughout the proceedings.
British prosecutors alleged that the former minister received lavish benefits from oil and gas executives seeking favourable treatment and access to lucrative contracts in Nigeria’s petroleum sector. The alleged benefits reportedly included luxury accommodation, travel and other high-value gifts while she was in public office.
However, Alison-Madueke maintained that she neither accepted bribes nor exercised direct control over the award of government contracts as alleged by the prosecution.
Following more than 46 hours of jury deliberations, the court found that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubt, leading to her acquittal on all counts.
The case was widely regarded as one of the most significant corruption prosecutions involving a former Nigerian public official in the United Kingdom.
Also cleared of all charges were oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde and Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama.
Ayinde, 54, had faced allegations relating to the payment of bribes to Alison-Madueke as well as a separate count of bribing a foreign public official. Agama, 69, was accused of participating in a conspiracy involving alleged payments linked to a church with which he was associated.
Both men denied the allegations and were acquitted alongside the former minister.
The verdict marks a major legal victory for Alison-Madueke and a significant setback for British investigators, whose inquiries into allegations surrounding her tenure as Nigeria’s petroleum minister began more than ten years ago.
During her years in office, Alison-Madueke occupied one of the most influential positions in Nigeria’s oil industry and also made history as the first female president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The acquittal is expected to generate renewed debate in Nigeria and abroad over long-running corruption allegations connected to the country’s oil sector, which remains a critical source of government revenue and foreign exchange earnings.
