British justice acquitted Diezani Alison-Madueke on Wednesday of all corruption charges against her, at the conclusion of a trial held at Southwark Crown Court in London and brought by the National Crime Agency. The former senior official, who headed Nigeria's oil portfolio between 2010 and 2015 under President Goodluck Jonathan, was prosecuted for allegedly accepting undue advantages and conspiracy to commit corruption.
Prosecutors accused him of enjoying a lavish lifestyle in the UK—including upscale residences, chauffeurs, private flights, luxury gifts, and coverage of personal expenses—financed by oil industry players seeking contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. The defense argued that these expenses were either justified by official duties or reimbursed, and challenged the strength of the evidence.
After more than 46 hours of deliberation, the jury found the defendants not guilty on all six counts. Two other defendants, Olatimbo Ayinde and Doye Agama, were also acquitted. The charges included suspected corruption involving intermediaries in the energy sector and payments made to third parties.
Following the verdict, Ms. Alison-Madueke welcomed the end of what she described as a "nightmare" that had lasted more than eleven years. Her lawyers denounced the delays and difficulties in accessing certain documents in the case file, while the British justice system reiterated the complexity of investigations targeting international political elites.
This case, which had been under close scrutiny by British, Nigerian, and American authorities—notably the United States Department of Justice—was based on suspicions of money laundering and the irregular awarding of oil contracts. It also implicated former senior oil official Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu and sparked controversy surrounding reports of corruption.
While this verdict puts an end to the proceedings in the United Kingdom, the former minister, the first woman to have chaired OPEC between 2014 and 2015, remains implicated in other international proceedings, notably in the United States, and has already had several assets seized in Nigeria as part of related investigations. She thus remains at the center of a sprawling case, emblematic of the difficulties in prosecuting transnational political elites.
