Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been acquitted of all six bribery charges brought against her in the United Kingdom, bringing an end to one of the most closely watched international corruption trials involving a former Nigerian public official.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London on Wednesday returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty on five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery after more than 46 hours of deliberations.
Alison-Madueke, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan between 2010 and 2015, had consistently denied the allegations throughout the lengthy trial.
British prosecutors had accused the 65-year-old former minister of enjoying a lavish lifestyle allegedly financed by oil and gas businessmen seeking preferential treatment and lucrative contracts in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
The allegations stemmed from an investigation launched by UK authorities more than a decade ago.
In her defence, Alison-Madueke maintained that she neither accepted bribes nor exercised direct control over the award of government contracts, insisting she had been wrongly accused.
The verdict represents a major setback for British investigators who spent years pursuing the case against the former minister, who also made history as the first female president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Also cleared of wrongdoing was her brother, Doye Agama, 69, who had been accused of conspiring with Alison-Madueke over payments allegedly made to his church. The jury found him not guilty on all counts.
The ruling effectively closes a high-profile prosecution that had attracted international attention and placed one of Nigeria’s most prominent former officials under intense legal scrutiny for several years.
