Bribery Charges: London Court Acquits, Declares Diezani Not Guilty

The Southwark crown court in London, United Kingdom has acquitted Diezani Alison-Madueke, the former minister of petroleum resources, of bribery charges filed against her.

Alison-Madueke was acquitted by a jury of all six charges after hours of deliberation on Wednesday.
During the trial, the written statement of former President Goodluck Jonathan was read in the open court.

In the written statement, Jonathan informed the court that it was not unusual for third parties to make payments on behalf of ministers on overseas duties.

Jonathan said he had approved Alison-Madueke’s use of private jets on some foreign trips.

In January 2026, the trial of the former minister commenced after the UK government charged her in August 2023 over an alleged £100,000 bribe.

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said they suspected Diezani had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts during her stint in office.

The former minister, along with Olatimbo Ayinde, an oil executive, and Doye Agama, her brother, were arraigned on charges bordering on accepting bribes. They pleaded not guilty.

During the proceedings, UK prosecutors have accused Alison-Madueke of accepting bribes in the form of luxury goods and use of high-level properties from industry figures.

Alexandra Healy, a prosecutor, had told the jurors that the former minister “enjoyed a life of luxury in London”, which was provided by those interested in oil contracts in Nigeria.

Healy said Alison-Madueke was given high-end properties and luxury goods by people who believed that she would use her influence to favour them for oil contracts.

The prosecutor said Kolawole Aluko, another Nigerian businessman, who is named in one charge but is not standing trial, spent more than two million pounds on items for Alison-Madueke at Harrods, a UK-based luxury store.

Healy told the jurors that the former minister, alongside her family, frequently stayed in a mansion outside London bought by Aluko.

In her defence, counsel to the former minister told the jury that he had limited control over oil contract approvals during her time in office, as most decisions were made before reaching her desk.

She said contract processes in the oil sector passed through multiple agencies before getting to Diezani.

She also said the operational authority of the sector rested largely with the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), while the ministry played an oversight role

The post Bribery Charges: London Court Acquits, Declares Diezani Not Guilty appeared first on Information Nigeria.