Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been acquitted of all bribery charges brought against her in the United Kingdom, bringing an end to one of the most closely watched international corruption trials involving a former Nigerian public official.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London on Wednesday returned unanimous not-guilty verdicts on all six counts against the 65-year-old former minister after more than 46 hours of deliberations.
Mrs Alison-Madueke, who served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015 under former President Goodluck Jonathan, had faced five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Throughout the proceedings, she consistently denied any wrongdoing.
British prosecutors alleged that she received luxury benefits from oil and gas industry figures seeking favourable treatment and access to lucrative contracts in Nigeria’s petroleum sector. The prosecution argued that these benefits funded an extravagant lifestyle in the United Kingdom and were intended to influence government decisions.
Among the allegations presented in court were claims that more than £2 million was spent on luxury purchases at Harrods and approximately £4.6 million was used to renovate properties in London and Buckinghamshire. Prosecutors also linked some transactions to Nigerian businessman Kolawole Aluko and his company, Tenka Limited.
The former minister rejected the allegations, insisting she neither accepted bribes nor had direct authority over the award of government contracts. During her testimony, she maintained that expenses incurred during official engagements were reimbursed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
“I can state categorically that at no point did I ask for, take or receive a bribe of any sort… and did not abuse my office,” she told the court during the trial.
Mrs Alison-Madueke also explained that a logistics arrangement was established in London to manage official engagements, citing administrative challenges within the NNPC at the time. She argued that the prosecution had wrongly interpreted those arrangements as evidence of corruption.
The acquittal represents a significant setback for British authorities, whose investigation into her activities lasted more than a decade. The former minister was charged in 2023 following years of inquiries into allegations linked to oil and gas contract awards during her tenure.
Despite her acquittal in the UK case, Mrs Alison-Madueke still faces several corruption-related proceedings in Nigeria. Nigerian courts have previously ordered the forfeiture of assets worth billions of naira allegedly linked to her, while some other cases remain unresolved due to her prolonged stay abroad.
A former president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Alison-Madueke remains one of the most prominent figures associated with Nigeria’s oil industry. Wednesday’s verdict closes a major chapter in the legal battles surrounding her tenure as petroleum minister.
