A London jury has acquitted former Nigerian Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke of all six bribery and conspiracy charges following a high-profile corruption trial.
She’s free and clear. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former oil minister, has been acquitted of every charge thrown at her at London’s Southwark Crown Court, according to Punch Newspapers.
The 65-year-old headed the petroleum ministry from 2010 to 2015 under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and was accused of pocketing bribes from oil executives angling for big Nigerian contracts, plus one conspiracy charge. Her defence was simple: she never took a dime and had no real power over who landed the deals.
After more than 46 hours of deliberation, the jury sided with her. Reuters described the verdict as a major setback for British investigators, who’d been building the case for over ten years.
She wasn’t on trial alone. Oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde faced related bribery counts, while her brother, Doye Agama, was accused of conspiracy over alleged payments routed through his church. Both were also acquitted.
A decade of digging by UK authorities, and in the end, the jury wasn’t convinced — not guilty, all round.
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