UK Court Acquits Diezani Alison-Madueke of Bribery Charges

Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been acquitted by a London jury on all six counts of bribery following a high-profile corruption trial in the United Kingdom.

Alison-Madueke, 65, who oversaw Nigeria’s state oil sector from 2010 to 2015 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, had faced five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. She consistently maintained her innocence throughout the investigation and legal proceedings, denying all allegations of official misconduct.

During the trial at Southwark Crown Court, British prosecutors argued that the former minister had accepted luxury accommodations, flights, and other high-end perks funded by oil and gas industry executives seeking to secure lucrative government contracts in Nigeria. In her defense, Alison-Madueke insisted that she never accepted bribes and clarified that she did not possess direct, unilateral control over the statutory processes for awarding state energy contracts.

The jury cleared the former minister after more than 46 hours of deliberation, delivering a significant blow to British anti-corruption authorities who had been investigating the case for over a decade.

Two co-defendants tried alongside Alison-Madueke were also fully acquitted. Olatimbo Ayinde, a 54-year-old oil industry executive facing two counts of bribery, and Doye Agama, the former minister’s 69-year-old brother who was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery regarding payments linked to a church, had both maintained their innocence and were cleared of all charges.