Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been cleared of all bribery charges by a jury in London, bringing an end to a high-profile corruption trial that spanned more than a decade.
Alison-Madueke, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan between 2010 and 2015, was acquitted of six charges, including five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
The jury at Southwark Crown Court returned not-guilty verdicts on all counts after more than 46 hours of deliberation.
British prosecutors had alleged that the former minister received luxury benefits from oil and gas executives seeking to secure lucrative contracts in Nigeria. However, she consistently denied the allegations, insisting that she neither accepted bribes nor influenced the award of government contracts.
The court also acquitted co-defendants Olatimbo Ayinde and Doye Agama, who faced related charges.
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