Author: Gist Correspondent

Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been acquitted of all bribery charges brought against her in the United Kingdom after a five-month trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.

A jury on Wednesday found the 65-year-old former minister not guilty on five counts of accepting bribes from individuals linked to energy companies and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery while serving in office.

The verdict followed more than 46 hours of jury deliberations, bringing to a close a high-profile case that had drawn significant attention in both Nigeria and the UK.

Alison-Madueke was charged in 2023 by the UK’s National Crime Agency over allegations that she received £100,000 in cash, luxury gifts, chauffeur-driven services and private jet flights from business figures connected to the energy sector. Prosecutors alleged that the benefits were provided while she wielded considerable influence over the award of government oil contracts.

During the trial, the former minister denied all wrongdoing, maintaining that she never solicited or accepted bribes. Her defence team argued that some of the gifts and services cited by prosecutors reflected Nigeria’s culture of gift-giving rather than corrupt inducements.

The court also heard claims that Alison-Madueke had been the target of a sustained smear campaign by opponents of reforms she pursued in Nigeria’s oil industry. Testifying in her defence, she told the court: “At no time did I ask, take or seek a bribe. I always sought to act impartially in all that I did.”

The acquittal extended to other defendants in the case. Diezani’s brother, Doye Agama, was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery, while Nigerian oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde was cleared of two bribery-related charges.