Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been cleared of all six bribery charges filed against her by UK prosecutors, concluding a closely watched corruption trial in London.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday found Alison-Madueke 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 as Nigeria’s petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, had maintained her innocence throughout the proceedings and denied all allegations against her.
British prosecutors had alleged that the 65-year-old former minister accepted a range of luxury benefits in London from oil and gas industry figures seeking to secure valuable contracts within Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
Prosecutors argued that the luxury benefits were part of an alleged bribery arrangement involving prominent figures in the energy sector. They claimed the incentives were provided in exchange for influence over business opportunities in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Alison-Madueke, however, denied ever accepting bribes and insisted she had no direct role in the award of government contracts, contrary to the allegations made by the prosecution.
Following a trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, a jury acquitted her of all six charges after more than 46 hours of deliberations.
The case also involved oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, who was charged with bribing Alison-Madueke and separately accused of bribing a foreign public official.
Ayinde denied the allegations and was acquitted on all counts by the jury.
The trial also involved Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama, who faced a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery linked to payments allegedly made to his church. Agama denied any wrongdoing and was likewise found not guilty.
The acquittals represent a major setback for British authorities, whose investigation into alleged corruption involving Alison-Madueke has spanned more than a decade.
The former minister has remained at the centre of several corruption-related probes connected to her tenure overseeing Nigeria’s oil sector. However, the verdict delivered by the Southwark Crown Court jury clears her of all criminal charges brought against her in the London trial.
The case drew widespread attention in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom because of Alison-Madueke’s former position as one of the most influential figures in Nigeria’s oil industry and her profile within the global energy sector.
