A London court has acquitted former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, of all bribery charges brought against her by UK prosecutors.
The jury at Southwark Crown Court found Alison-Madueke not guilty of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, bringing an end to a high-profile corruption trial that lasted several months. (Reuters)
The former minister had been accused by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) of accepting luxury benefits, including expensive accommodation, private travel, chauffeur services and other gifts from individuals allegedly seeking favourable treatment in Nigeria’s oil sector between 2010 and 2015. (The Guardian Nigeria)
Alison-Madueke, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan and became the first female president of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, consistently denied wrongdoing. She told the court that she never solicited or accepted bribes and argued that she had been targeted because of her position and efforts to reform Nigeria’s oil industry. (The Guardian Nigeria)
During the trial, prosecutors argued that she benefited from lavish spending allegedly funded by oil industry figures seeking influence over government decisions. Her defence team, however, maintained that the expenses were linked to official arrangements and that she had no role in awarding oil contracts. (Financial Times)
Other defendants in the case, including oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde and Alison-Madueke’s brother Doye Agama, were also cleared of related allegations. (Reuters)
Reacting to the verdict, Alison-Madueke described the outcome as the end of an 11-year legal battle, while the ruling marked a major setback for UK authorities’ efforts to prosecute alleged corruption involving international political figures. (Reuters)
The case had attracted significant attention in Nigeria and abroad because of Alison-Madueke’s role as petroleum minister during a period when the country’s oil sector was under intense public scrutiny. (The Guardian Nigeria)
