*Photo: Diezani Alison-Madueke*
Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke has been acquitted of all six bribery-related charges by a jury at the Southwark Crown Court in London.
Jurors reached unanimous not-guilty verdicts on five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery after more than 46 hours of deliberation.
British prosecutors had accused Alison-Madueke of abusing her ministerial power to accept luxury inducements. Alleged benefits included £100,000 in cash, private jet travel, chauffeur-driven cars, and high-end property renovations from oil executives seeking lucrative Nigerian energy contracts.
She vehemently denied the charges, arguing she had no direct influence over awarding contracts. Her defense team successfully demonstrated that personal and official expenses were fully reimbursed either by herself or the Nigerian state.
Her brother, Doye Agama, and oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde were also cleared of related conspiracy and bribery charges.
While the London trial has concluded, those in Nigeria and the US are still ongoing.
In 2017, Nigerian courts ordered the forfeiture of real estate valued at millions of dollars linked to her.
The United States and Nigerian governments signed an asset return agreement to repatriate $52.88 million recovered from assets US prosecutors alleged were purchased with illicit proceeds.