Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke cleared of UK bribery charges after five-month trial

Nigeria’s former minister of petroleum resources and the first woman to serve as president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been acquitted of six bribery charges by a court in the United Kingdom after a five-month trial.

Her defence team announced on Wednesday that a jury at Southwark Crown Court in London returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on all six counts.

In a statement issued after the judgment, defence lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw said Alison-Madueke had been cleared of the charges brought by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

The prosecution alleged that between 2011 and 2015, while serving as Nigeria’s petroleum minister, Alison-Madueke accepted financial and other benefits from individuals linked to two energy companies that secured contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Prosecutors also accused her of living an extravagant lifestyle financed by those seeking lucrative oil and gas contracts. The allegations included the use of chauffeur-driven luxury vehicles, private jet travel to Nigeria and payments for refurbishment works and staff at several London properties.

Her defence rejected the allegations throughout the trial, arguing that crucial records capable of proving her innocence had been lost or were no longer available because of the lengthy delay before charges were filed.

Laidlaw told the court in January that the prosecution had been brought after a “gross delay”, preventing his client from accessing documents that could have supported her defence. He also argued that Alison-Madueke had been unable to retrieve records from Nigeria because British authorities had retained her passport since her arrest in October 2015.

Alison-Madueke, who served as OPEC president between 2014 and 2015, has faced multiple investigations and legal proceedings in several jurisdictions, including the United States, over allegations linked to her tenure in office.

She was first arrested in the United Kingdom in October 2015 and remained on bail before being formally charged in 2023. She denied all the allegations.

The acquittal brings to an end one of the UK’s most closely watched corruption prosecutions involving a former senior Nigerian public official.