Ex-Nigeria oil minister Diezani cleared in UK bribery trial
Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was acquitted by a jury at Southwark Crown Court in London. According to the BBC, the prosecution was unable to prove with sufficient evidence its allegation that she accepted more than 100 million dollars in bribes from international energy companies during her tenure. The verdict has reignited debate over oil-sector regulation in Nigeria.
The five-week trial marked the culmination of an investigation opened by the UK National Crime Agency in 2017. According to court records cited by the BBC, prosecutors sought to link Alison-Madueke's London properties and bank movements to procurement decisions she took as minister; the defence presented commercial justifications for all the payments concerned.
Alison-Madueke served as minister in the Goodluck Jonathan cabinet from 2010 to 2015, a period in which procurement processes awarded to firms such as Shell, Eni and Glencore drew scrutiny. She was arrested in London in 2017 and lived for years under judicial restrictions. Speaking outside court after the verdict, her lawyer described the process as "the end of a decade-long nightmare."
In Lagos, Transparency International Nigeria director Auwal Musa said the verdict "has put oversight gaps in Nigeria's oil sector back on the agenda." The Tinubu government has not issued an official statement; a government spokesperson indicated the NCA file's evidence could be the subject of a separate Nigerian investigation.
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