London Court Clears Alison-Madueke of Corruption Allegations
Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been cleared of all six bribery charges brought against her in the United Kingdom after a London jury returned unanimous not-guilty verdicts on Wednesday.
Alison-Madueke, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan from 2010 to 2015, faced five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. She consistently denied all allegations throughout the proceedings.
Prosecutors had alleged that the 65-year-old former minister received luxury benefits in London from individuals in the oil and gas sector seeking access to lucrative contracts in Nigeria’s petroleum industry. The case centred on claims that she enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle funded by industry figures hoping to secure business advantages.
However, Alison-Madueke maintained that she never accepted bribes and had no direct authority over the award of government contracts. Following a lengthy trial at Southwark Crown Court in London, the jury acquitted her on all counts after more than 46 hours of deliberation.
The verdict represents a significant setback for British authorities, whose investigation into corruption allegations involving the former minister began more than a decade ago.
Also standing trial was oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who faced one bribery charge linked to Alison-Madueke as well as a separate allegation of bribing a foreign public official. He denied both charges.
Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama, 69, was accused of conspiring with his sister in relation to payments allegedly made to his church. Agama also rejected the allegations.
The jury ultimately acquitted both Ayinde and Agama of all charges brought against them.
Source: Reuters.