UK Court Clears Diezani of All Bribery Charges After Lengthy Trial

Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been acquitted of all bribery charges by a London jury following a lengthy corruption trial that lasted several months.

The verdict, delivered at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, saw Alison-Madueke cleared of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

The charges stemmed from allegations that she received various benefits from oil and gas industry figures seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria during her tenure as petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015.

Prosecutors had alleged that the former minister enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle in London, including access to high-end properties, private flights, luxury shopping trips and other benefits provided by businessmen with interests in Nigeria’s oil sector.

However, Alison-Madueke consistently denied the allegations, maintaining throughout the trial that she neither sought nor accepted bribes and had no direct influence over the awarding of contracts.

The jury returned unanimous not-guilty verdicts after more than 46 hours of deliberations, bringing to an end an investigation that had spanned over a decade and attracted international attention.

Also acquitted were oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde and Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama, who had faced related charges in the same case.

In a statement issued after the verdict, Alison-Madueke’s legal team said the former minister was grateful to the jury and looked forward to resuming her private and public life after what they described as an 11-year ordeal.

The ruling marks a significant setback for British authorities, who launched investigations into corruption allegations against the former minister shortly after she left office in 2015. Reuters