Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been found not guilty of all bribery charges brought against her by British prosecutors after a high-profile trial in London.
Alison-Madueke, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan between 2010 and 2015, faced five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. She consistently denied all allegations.
Prosecutors alleged that the former minister received luxury benefits from oil and gas executives seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria. However, Alison-Madueke maintained that she never accepted bribes and had no direct control over the award of government contracts.
After more than 46 hours of deliberation, a jury at Southwark Crown Court returned unanimous not-guilty verdicts on all six charges.
The ruling marks a significant setback for British authorities, who had spent more than a decade investigating corruption allegations linked to the former OPEC president.
Also acquitted were oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde and Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama, who had faced separate bribery-related charges connected to the case.
The verdict brings to a close one of the UK’s most closely watched international corruption trials involving a former senior Nigerian government official.
Author
Leave a comment