Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been cleared of all six bribery charges brought against her in the United Kingdom following a lengthy trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.
A jury on Wednesday unanimously returned a not guilty verdict after a 12-week trial and 46 hours of deliberations over allegations of corruption linked to her tenure as Nigeria’s petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Prosecutors had alleged that Alison-Madueke received various benefits from oil and gas industry figures seeking favourable treatment in the award of contracts and other business interests in Nigeria.
The prosecution claimed she enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in London funded through illicit benefits, including £100,000 in cash, more than £2 million spent on luxury shopping, £4.6 million used for property renovations, private jet travel, chauffeur services and payments for domestic staff.
However, the former minister consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that she neither solicited nor accepted bribes and did not abuse her office while serving in government.
Her defence team argued that the case was politically motivated and that investigators had misinterpreted financial transactions and benefits associated with her.
The trial, presided over by Justice Justine Thornton, examined allegations said to have occurred between 2011 and 2015. Had she been found guilty under UK anti-bribery laws, Alison-Madueke could have faced up to 10 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.
Also acquitted were oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde and Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama, who had been standing trial alongside her.
Ayinde had faced two bribery-related counts, including one involving the alleged 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 charges throughout the proceedings and were unanimously cleared by the jury.