Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been found not guilty by a London jury of six bribery charges following a rare corruption trial involving a former high-ranking energy official.
Alison-Madueke, who served as petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 under former President Goodluck Jonathan, faced five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. She denied all the allegations.
Prosecutors alleged that the 65-year-old former minister enjoyed “a life of luxury” in London, allegedly funded by oil and gas industry figures seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria, a country long challenged by corruption and mismanagement in its oil sector.
However, Alison-Madueke maintained that she never received any bribes and insisted she had no control over the awarding of government contracts.
After proceedings at Southwark Crown Court, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all six charges after more than 46 hours of deliberation, according to Reuters.
The acquittal marks a setback for British authorities, who had pursued the case for over a decade following corruption allegations against the former minister.
She was tried alongside oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who faced one count of bribery related to Alison-Madueke and another count of bribery of a foreign public official.
Her brother, Doye Agama, 69, was also charged with conspiracy to commit bribery in relation to payments allegedly made to a church connected to him.
Both Ayinde and Agama denied the allegations and were likewise acquitted by the jury.
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