Alison-Madueke: 13-year Investigation Ruined My Life, Faults UK Probe
Sunday Ehigiator
Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has criticised British law enforcement authorities following her acquittal on bribery charges, saying the 13-year investigation by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) devastated her life, reputation and career.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Alison-Madueke, said the prolonged probe subjected her to years of emotional and psychological distress despite her insistence that she had committed no wrongdoing.“I’ve not been allowed to travel. I’ve not been allowed to work. They destroyed my reputation and my integrity,” she said.A jury at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday found the former minister not guilty of five counts of accepting bribes and conspiracy to commit bribery, bringing to an end a legal battle that began with her arrest in 2015.
Alison-Madueke, who served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 and was the first female president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), described the experience as traumatic.“When your freedom is taken away from you, it has a very deep impact upon you psychologically,” she said.
