A jury in London has acquitted former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke of all charges related to corruption, delivering a significant setback to UK authorities’ efforts to prosecute alleged foreign corruption on British soil. After a 46-hour deliberation, the panel found Alison-Madueke not guilty on five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. The charges related to alleged misconduct between 2011 and 2015 during her tenure as Nigeria’s oil minister and president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The prosecution accused Alison-Madueke of using her position to amass a luxurious lifestyle funded by illicit Nigerian oil revenues. Allegations included accepting expensive gifts such as a £25,000 Chanel handbag and a £22,000 Alexander McQueen rug. Prosecutors further claimed that wealthy oil executives had provided a chef, housekeepers, and a nanny for Alison-Madueke’s family to secure lucrative government contracts. They also alleged that associates, including Nigerian businesswoman Olatimbo Ayinde and Alison-Madueke’s brother Doye Agama, were involved in a broader network of corruption. Both Ayinde and Agama were similarly acquitted.

Prosecutors presented evidence that luxury properties in the London area, including a grand house in Buckinghamshire and a five-bedroom apartment overlooking Regent’s Park, were acquired on Alison-Madueke’s behalf, with chauffeurs and private jet services also allegedly provided. The defense argued these expenses were loans that had been properly repaid, with Alison-Madueke testifying that payments on her Nigerian credit cards often failed and that she kept receipts—later lost during a politically motivated raid on her home in Abuja—demonstrating reimbursement.

Alison-Madueke maintained she was an anti-corruption reformer targeted for attempting to challenge entrenched power structures within Nigeria’s oil industry, which she described as historically rife with corruption dating back to colonial times. The former oil minister said her efforts to empower smaller indigenous companies antagonized established interests, resulting in intimidation against her family, including the kidnapping of her sister.

During the trial, Justice Justine Thornton instructed the jury that if they believed the payments and expenses were properly reimbursed, Alison-Madueke’s actions would not constitute corruption. Neither the Crown Prosecution Service nor the National Crime Agency disputed the jury’s verdict, although it represented a considerable blow to one of their most high-profile and resource-intensive investigations.

Alison-Madueke expressed relief following the acquittal, stating that the decade-long case had been a prolonged ordeal marked by what she described as “relentless and unjust vilification.” She reaffirmed her position as a figure unjustly targeted in a politically motivated campaign and welcomed the decision as the end of a difficult chapter in her life.