Former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has been found not guilty of all bribery charges after a high-profile trial in London.
Alison-Madueke, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan from 2010 to 2015, faced five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
She consistently denied all the allegations throughout the trial.
British prosecutors claimed that the former minister received luxury gifts and benefits from oil and gas executives seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria.
Alison-Madueke argued that she never accepted bribes and did not have direct control over the award of government contracts.
Jury Returns Unanimous Verdict
After more than 46 hours of deliberation, a jury at Southwark Crown Court returned unanimous not-guilty verdicts on all six charges.
The ruling deals a major blow to British authorities, who spent more than a decade investigating corruption allegations linked to the former OPEC president.
The court also cleared oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde and Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama, of separate bribery-related charges connected to the case.
The verdict brings to an end one of the United Kingdom’s most closely watched international corruption trials involving a former senior Nigerian government official.
The court’s decision closes a chapter that attracted global attention and followed years of investigations into allegations linked to Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Related Sources
UK Crown Prosecution Service: https://www.cps.gov.uk
Southwark Crown Court information: https://www.gov.uk
OPEC official website: https://www.opec.org
