The Southwark crown court in London, United Kingdom has exonerated Diezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum resources, of bribery charges lodged against her.
Alison-Madueke was acquitted by a jury of all six charges after more than 46 hours of deliberation on Wednesday.
Alison-Madueke, minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015 under then-president Goodluck Jonathan, stood trial charged with five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, which she denied.
Prosecutors alleged Alison-Madueke, 65, was given “a life of luxury” in London from oil and gas industry figures seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria, which has long grappled with mismanagement and corruption.
But the former minister, who was also briefly president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said she never took any bribes and had no real influence over the awarding of lucrative government contracts.
After a trial, Alison-Madueke was acquitted by a jury.
She stood trial alongside oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who was charged with one count of bribery relating to Alison-Madueke and a separate count of bribery of a foreign public official.
Alison-Madueke’s brother Doye Agama, 69, was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery with his sister relating to payments made to Agama’s church.
Both Ayinde and Agama denied the charges against them and were also acquitted by the jury
