Former OPEC president and former Nigerian petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has been cleared of all bribery charges in the United Kingdom, ending an 11-year corruption investigation that became one of the most prominent legal battles involving an African energy official.
A jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court found Alison-Madueke not guilty on five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery after more than 46 hours of deliberation, bringing to a close a case that had drawn scrutiny from authorities in the UK, Nigeria and the United States.
The verdict is a big setback for British investigators, who spent more than a decade pursuing allegations that the former minister benefited from luxury properties, private travel, expensive shopping and other perks allegedly provided by oil industry figures seeking influence in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
For Alison-Madueke, however, the ruling marks a major personal and legal victory after years of investigations, asset seizures, court proceedings and public scrutiny.
The former minister served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015, overseeing Africa’s largest crude oil producer at a time when oil revenues remained central to the country’s economy.
