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| Diezani Alison-Madueke |
Former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was cleared of all charges on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, after a rare, closely watched corruption trial in London.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court found Alison-Madueke not guilty on six counts, including five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, according to Reuters.
The former minister, who led Nigeria’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources from 2010 to 2015 under President Goodluck Jonathan and briefly served as OPEC president, consistently denied the allegations.
Prosecutors argued that the 65-year-old had been lavished with luxury in London by figures in the oil and gas industry who sought favourable treatment and lucrative contracts in Nigeria, a country long troubled by corruption and mismanagement in its oil sector.
Alison-Madueke maintained she never accepted bribes and said she had no decisive influence over the award of government contracts.
After a trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court, Alison-Madueke was acquitted by a jury of all six charges she faced after more than 46 hours of deliberation.
The not guilty verdicts are a major blow to British authorities, which began their investigation into corruption allegations against Alison-Madueke more than a decade ago.
Alison-Madueke 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 also 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.
The jury’s verdict brings to a close one of the few high-profile corruption trials involving a senior former energy official, concluding a case that attracted international attention.
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