Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources and the first woman to serve as president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been cleared of bribery charges by a UK court, her defence team announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, defence lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw said Alison-Madueke was acquitted of six counts of bribery at Southwark Crown Court in London following a five-month trial.
“Diezani Alison-Madueke was cleared of six charges of bribery at Southwark Crown Court on 17 June 2026, after a five-month trial,” Laidlaw said.
The case was brought by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) after a lengthy investigation into alleged offences said to have occurred between 2011 and 2015, when Alison-Madueke served as Nigeria’s oil minister.
Prosecutors had alleged that she accepted financial and other benefits from individuals connected to two energy companies that secured contracts with Nigeria’s state-owned petroleum corporation during her tenure.
The prosecution also accused her of enjoying a lavish lifestyle allegedly funded by those seeking access to lucrative oil and gas contracts.
According to the prosecution, the benefits included chauffeur-driven vehicles, private jet travel to Nigeria, and renovation works and staff expenses at several London properties.
However, Alison-Madueke consistently denied the allegations.
During the trial, her defence argued that crucial records capable of proving her innocence had been lost over time due to what it described as a significant delay in bringing the charges.
Addressing the jury in January, Laidlaw said the delay had resulted in “a great deal of material which would have established her innocence” no longer being available.
The defence further contended that Alison-Madueke had been unable to access documents kept in Nigeria because British authorities had retained her passport since her initial arrest in October 2015.
Alison-Madueke served as OPEC president between 2014 and 2015 and has been the subject of several legal proceedings in different jurisdictions, including the United States.
She was formally charged in the United Kingdom in 2023 and remained on bail throughout the proceedings.
Prosecutors had previously stated that she maintained a British address during the period covered by the allegations.
