Diezani Alison-Madueke Cleared of Five Bribery Counts in Nigeria
nigeria's former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was found not guilty at London's Southwark Crown Court of five counts of accepting bribes and one charge of conspiracy to commit bribery. The ruling ends her trial in London and removes the immediate criminal liability she faced in a case that had followed her for 13 years.
Alison-Madueke, 65, had served as Nigeria's oil minister between 2010 and 2015 and told the court during the trial, "At no time did I ask, take, or seek a bribe or bribes of any sort," and also said, "In a very patriarchal society, to have a woman sitting at the helm was a major no-no."
Southwark Crown Court verdict
The court's decision also cleared Doye Agama, Alison-Madueke's older brother, of conspiracy to commit bribery, and Olatimbo Ayinde of bribery and bribery of a foreign public official. The trial began in January, and the outcome closes the London courtroom phase of a case that had been built after a 13-year investigation by the UK's National Crime Agency.
Alexandra Healy KC prosecuted the case. Prosecutors said six oil industry figures were named on the indictment, although none were charged, leaving the trial focused on the three defendants who did appear before the court.
Alison-Madueke's role in Nigeria
Alison-Madueke had built a high-profile career before the criminal case. She became the first female member on the Nigerian board of Shell in 2006, was appointed oil minister in 2010, and became president of Opec in 2014. She also said she had been nicknamed "Madam due process".
Defense lawyers described Britain's system as a "broken criminal justice system" from the start of the trial in January. They also argued that vital documents showing her innocence had gone missing in Nigeria and that the long delay in bringing the case to court was unjust.
What the verdict leaves behind
The judgment ends the immediate threat of a London conviction for Alison-Madueke, but it does not change the fact that the case has shadowed one of Nigeria's most prominent former ministers for more than a decade. For Alison-Madueke, the result turns a long-running corruption trial into a cleared record in court, while Doye Agama and Olatimbo Ayinde leave the case under the same verdict that cleared her.
The next confirmed step in the story is the practical one: the London case has now reached its verdict stage, and the only remaining question is how the acquittals for Alison-Madueke, Agama, and Ayinde will be carried beyond Southwark Crown Court by the people and institutions that followed the trial.
