AfriPulse
LONDON, United Kingdom — Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former Nigerian oil minister who was once one of the most prominent political figures in Africa’s energy sector, has been acquitted in London of bribery charges after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Alison-Madueke, 65, was found not guilty of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
Prosecutors had accused her of receiving benefits from wealthy oil executives, including access to expensive homes and high-value spending in Britain.
The verdict ended a prosecution brought after a long-running investigation by Britain’s National Crime Agency, which had examined the former minister for 13 years.
Alison-Madueke served as Nigeria’s oil minister from 2010 to 2015.
She had previously become the first woman appointed to the Nigerian board of Shell in 2006 and later became the first female president of OPEC in 2014.
Co-Defendants Also Acquitted
Two other defendants were also cleared.
Doye Agama, 69, Alison-Madueke’s older brother and an archbishop at a Pentecostal church in Manchester, was acquitted of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, an oil industry executive and Nigerian businesswoman with British citizenship, was found not guilty of bribery and bribery of a foreign public official.
Ayinde’s defence said she had acted as an informant for Nigerian authorities in an anti-corruption investigation.
An investigator from Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, told the court that Ayinde had provided “vital information that assisted the investigation.”
Her lawyer, Jonathan Lennon KC, told the court, “Miss Ayinde’s plan was to help law enforcement and now she’s there in the dock.”
Defence Criticised the Case
From the beginning of the trial in January, lawyers for Alison-Madueke challenged the prosecution’s case, arguing that important documents that could have supported her defence had disappeared in Nigeria.
The defence also criticised the time taken to bring the matter to trial.
Jonathan Laidlaw KC, representing Alison-Madueke, said she had “effectively been kept prisoner in this country for almost 11 years… unable to work, unable to travel” while the authorities had not secured the extradition of the oil executives alleged to have paid bribes.
Six oil businessmen were named in the indictment, but none was charged.
The jury was not told why they were not prosecuted.
The defence also questioned the role of the EFCC in the investigation, saying the National Crime Agency had not taken part in the search of Alison-Madueke’s home in Abuja in 2015 and had relied on evidence gathered by Nigerian investigators.
Alison-Madueke Denied Taking Bribes
During the trial, Alison-Madueke described herself as a public official who followed procedure closely and said she had been known as “Madam due process.”
“In a very patriarchal society, to have a woman sitting at the helm was a major no-no,” she told the court.
Prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC had alleged that Alison-Madueke allowed powerful men with oil-sector government contracts to fund an expensive lifestyle.
But the prosecution did not produce evidence that she had awarded contracts to the oil executives named in the indictment in exchange for bribes.
“At no time did I ask, take, or seek a bribe or bribes of any sort,” Alison-Madueke told the court.
She said some items bought by the businessmen were not for her and that she had met them in connection with interior design advice on their own properties.
Alison-Madueke also told the court that Nigerian ministers serving abroad were not permitted to operate foreign bank accounts, and that her department’s London office was disorganised.
She said wealthy businessmen sometimes covered her living expenses overseas but were reimbursed in Nigeria.
Goodluck Jonathan, the former Nigerian president who appointed Alison-Madueke as oil minister, did not testify.
But he provided a statement saying that third parties often paid for transport, accommodation and other expenses for Nigerian ministers travelling on official business overseas.
After the verdict, Alison-Madueke said her “nightmare is over.”
“For 11 long, gruelling years this case has hung over my head and has tormented me and my family,” she said.
“But today, the past decade of relentless and unjust vilification, condemnation and scrutiny has finally come to an end.”
Source: TheTrentOnline | Read the Full Story…
