By Ghazali Ibrahim
A London court has acquitted former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, of all bribery charges brought against her by British authorities.
The verdict was delivered on Wednesday at Southwark Crown Court after a jury deliberated for more than 46 hours before finding Alison-Madueke not guilty on all six counts.
The former minister, who served under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan between 2010 and 2015, had faced five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
She consistently denied the allegations throughout the trial.
Prosecutors alleged that Alison-Madueke, 65, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in London funded by oil and gas industry figures seeking access to lucrative contracts in Nigeria’s petroleum sector. They argued that the benefits were provided in exchange for influence over government business.
However, Alison-Madueke maintained that she never accepted bribes and did not possess the authority to determine the award of oil and gas contracts.
The acquittal marks a significant setback for British investigators, who launched corruption inquiries into the former minister more than a decade ago.
Also cleared by the jury were oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, and Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama, 69.
Ayinde had been charged with one count of bribery involving Alison-Madueke and another count relating to the alleged bribery of a foreign public official. Agama faced a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery linked to payments allegedly made to his church.
Both men denied the allegations and were found not guilty.
Alison-Madueke, who also briefly served as President of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has remained one of the most prominent figures linked to corruption investigations involving Nigeria’s oil sector.
The latest ruling, however, brings an end to the UK criminal case against her with a complete acquittal on all charges.
