Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been acquitted of all six bribery-related charges by a jury in London, bringing an end to an 11-year corruption investigation.
The jury at Southwark Crown Court returned unanimous not guilty verdicts after more than 46 hours of deliberations, clearing the 65-year-old of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
The decision marks the conclusion of one of the United Kingdom’s longest-running investigations involving a former senior Nigerian government official and represents a significant setback for British prosecutors and the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Alison-Madueke, who served as Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources between 2010 and 2015 under former President Goodluck Jonathan, had been accused of accepting luxury gifts and benefits from oil executives seeking influence over lucrative contracts in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
Prosecutors alleged that she lived a “life of luxury” financed by businessmen with commercial interests in Nigeria’s oil industry. The alleged benefits included luxury travel, expensive furniture, designer handbags and other high-value items.
Throughout the trial, Alison-Madueke consistently denied all allegations, maintaining that she neither accepted bribes nor used her position to favour any individual or company.
While testifying in her defence, she told the court that she did not initiate meetings with oil industry executives and argued that many of the interactions and travel arrangements cited by prosecutors were organised by third parties.
She also informed the court that she was undergoing cancer treatment during portions of the period under investigation, stating that her health condition affected her ability to recall certain events.
The former minister further maintained that she was not responsible for handling travel, accommodation and other logistical arrangements, explaining that such responsibilities were managed by government institutions, particularly the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The verdict officially closes a case that has remained under investigation for more than a decade and draws a line under one of the most closely watched international corruption proceedings involving a former Nigerian public official.
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