By Amah
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Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, was on Wednesday acquitted of all bribery charges brought against her in the United Kingdom, ending one of the most closely watched international corruption trials involving a former Nigerian public official.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London unanimously found Alison-Madueke not guilty on all six counts after a 12-week trial and 46 hours of deliberations. The verdict represents a major legal victory for the former minister, who had consistently maintained her innocence throughout the proceedings.
Alison-Madueke served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 under former President Goodluck Jonathan and was one of the most influential figures in the country’s oil industry during that period. Following the end of the Jonathan administration, she became the focus of multiple corruption-related investigations in Nigeria and abroad.
British prosecutors had alleged that she received lavish benefits from oil and gas businessmen, seeking favourable treatment in relation to contracts and business interests in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
According to the prosecution, the former minister allegedly enjoyed a luxury lifestyle funded through illicit benefits, including £100,000 in cash, more than £2 million spent on luxury shopping at Harrods, £4.6 million in property renovations, private jet travel, chauffeur-driven vehicles, and payments for domestic staff at upscale properties in London and Buckinghamshire.
The prosecution argued that these benefits were provided in exchange for influence and preferential treatment while she held public office.
However, Alison-Madueke rejected the allegations, telling the court she never sought, requested, or accepted bribes and did not abuse her position as minister. Her defence team argued that the case was politically motivated and that investigators had misinterpreted financial transactions and benefits associated with her.
The former minister was tried alongside oil industry executive, Olatimbo Ayinde, and her brother, Doye Agama. Ayinde faced bribery-related charges connected to Alison-Madueke and a separate allegation, involving the bribery of a foreign public official, while Agama was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery over alleged payments linked to his church. Both men denied the accusations, and the jury also acquitted them of all charges.
Had Alison-Madueke been convicted under the United Kingdom’s anti-bribery laws, she faced a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.
The verdict is expected to generate renewed discussion in Nigeria over the long-running allegations surrounding her tenure in office and the broader fight against corruption in the country’s oil and gas sector.
