By Ononye VC
Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has been acquitted of all bribery charges by a London jury, bringing an end to one of the most closely watched foreign corruption cases ever pursued by British authorities and closing a legal chapter that has hung over the former minister for more than a decade.
Jurors at Southwark Crown Court found the 65-year-old not guilty on Wednesday of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery after deliberating for more than 46 hours.
The verdict represents a significant setback for the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), which launched an investigation into Alison-Madueke in 2015 amid allegations that she had benefited from lavish gifts, luxury travel and other perks from oil and gas executives seeking influence in Nigeria’s lucrative petroleum sector.
Following the verdict, Alison-Madueke said she felt relieved after years8 of public scrutiny.
“For 11 long, gruelling years this case has hung over my head and has tormented me and my family,” she said in a statement issued through a spokesperson. “My nightmare is over.”
The former minister, once one of the most powerful figures in Africa’s largest oil-producing nation, had denied all wrongdoing throughout the proceedings. Her lawyers argued that expenses cited by prosecutors were either reimbursed, covered by the Nigerian government for official business or paid personally by her.
The trial marked the latest chapter in a saga that has followed Alison-Madueke since she left office in 2015 after the electoral defeat of former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan.
Alison-Madueke was one of the most influential women in global energy during her time in government. She served as Nigeria’s minister of petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015, overseeing the country’s vast oil sector at a time when crude exports accounted for the overwhelming majority of government revenue.
She also made history as the first woman to serve as president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), elevating her profile on the international stage.
However, her tenure coincided with mounting criticism of governance within Nigeria’s oil industry. Questions over transparency, missing revenues and the management of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) repeatedly surfaced during her years in office.
Although allegations of corruption circulated for years, Alison-Madueke consistently denied wrongdoing and maintained that many accusations against her were politically motivated.
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