A London jury delivered not-guilty verdicts Wednesday against former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, clearing her of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery — a major defeat for British law enforcement after more than ten years of investigation.
Alison-Madueke, 65, made history as the first woman to serve as Nigeria’s minister for petroleum resources, holding that position from 2010 to 2015 under then-President Goodluck Jonathan. She also briefly served as president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Prosecutors had argued that Alison-Madueke was provided with “a life of luxury” in London by oil and gas industry figures who were looking to secure profitable contracts in Nigeria. The former minister denied ever accepting bribes and maintained she had no real power over how contracts were awarded.
Her legal team contended that the expenditures highlighted by prosecutors were either reimbursed by the Nigerian government for official duties or paid out of her own pocket for personal matters. She testified that she was known as “Madame Due Process.”
After more than 46 hours of jury deliberations following a trial that started in January at Southwark Crown Court, Alison-Madueke was acquitted. She described the outcome as the end of her “nightmare.”
“For 11 long, gruelling years this case has hung over my head and has tormented me and my family,” Alison-Madueke said in a statement released through her spokesperson. “But today, the past decade of relentless and unjust vilification, condemnation and scrutiny has finally come to an end.”
Britain’s National Crime Agency responded briefly, with a spokesperson stating: “We respect the decision of the jury.”
Zainab Saleem of the campaign group Spotlight on Corruption noted the broader implications of the outcome. “This case has exposed just how tough it is to investigate and prosecute alleged corruption involving political elites,” she said.
Alison-Madueke had weathered numerous scandals and investigations involving Nigeria’s state-owned petroleum corporation before leaving government when Jonathan lost the presidency in 2015. She was also a target of U.S. authorities, who alleged that proceeds from improperly awarded contracts were laundered through the United States.
While British prosecutors focused only on whether it was “improper” for her to accept benefits — not whether she had awarded contracts to undeserving parties — the U.S. Department of Justice stated in 2017 that Alison-Madueke “used her influence to steer lucrative oil contracts” to senior executives who had paid her bribes.
Two other defendants were also cleared in the case. Oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, was acquitted of one bribery count related to Alison-Madueke and a separate count of bribing a foreign public official. Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama, 69, was acquitted of conspiracy to commit bribery charges tied to payments made to his church.
The trial came close to collapsing on more than one occasion. Ayinde’s claim that she had acted as a whistleblower — reporting corruption to Bola Tinubu, who became Nigeria’s president in 2023 — caused a lengthy delay that nearly ended proceedings. In March, Nigeria’s attorney general sent a letter confirming that Ayinde had indeed made a report to Nigerian authorities. Despite Ayinde’s effort to have one of the charges against her dismissed, the judge ruled against her, though the jury ultimately acquitted her on both counts.
Alison-Madueke had previously attempted to have the entire case thrown out, arguing that Nigerian investigators were corrupt and that British prosecutors had failed to pursue all relevant leads. Those arguments were rejected before the trial began.
