A former Nigerian oil minister has been cleared of taking bribes from wealthy oil executives in the form of luxury home stays and lavish spending sprees in the United Kingdom.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, 65, was found not guilty after a trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court of five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery. Alison-Madueke was Nigeria’s oil minister between 2010 and 2015 and the first female president of the oil exporters group OPEC.
The verdict is a blow for the UK’s National Crime Agency, which had been investigating one of Africa’s most prominent political figures for 13 years. Also cleared by the jury were Alison-Madueke’s older brother Doye Agama, 69, and oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54.
‘Madam Due Process’
Alison-Madueke portrayed herself in court as a role model for women, a tireless fighter against corruption, and someone who was such a stickler for rules she was nicknamed “Madam Due Process.”
“In a very patriarchal society, to have a woman sitting at the helm was a major no-no,” she told the court, suggesting this had made her a target for unnamed male opponents.
She told the court: “At no time did I ask, take, or seek a bribe or bribes of any sort,” saying many of the luxury items purchased were not for her, and that she had been with the oil men to offer advice on interior design in their own properties.
The Prosecution’s Case
Prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC said the former minister improperly allowed powerful men with lucrative government contracts in the oil business to bankroll her extravagant lifestyle. Six of them were named on the indictment, although none were charged.
But the prosecution failed to provide evidence she awarded contracts to any of the oil tycoons named because of bribes.
Alison-Madueke told the court that Nigerian ministers were not allowed to hold foreign bank accounts when on service overseas, and that she relied on wealthy businessmen funding her living expenses. She said they were always reimbursed in Nigeria and evidence proving this had been seized from her home in Abuja but never produced by the authorities there.
Questions Raised by the Case
Defence barrister Jonathan Laidlaw KC questioned why the Nigerian government had not sought to prosecute Alison-Madueke. He said she had “effectively been kept prisoner in this country for almost 11 years… unable to work, unable to travel” while the NCA had “done nothing to bring about the extradition” of the six oil men said to have paid bribes to her.
The defence claimed the investigation had been compromised from the start because the NCA was denied access to the search of Alison-Madueke’s Abuja home in 2015, relying instead on work done by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The Verdict
In a statement after the verdict, Alison-Madueke said her “nightmare is over.”
“For 11 long, gruelling years this case has hung over my head and has tormented me and my family,” she said. “But today, the past decade of relentless and unjust vilification, condemnation and scrutiny has finally come to an end.”
The Bottom Line
A UK court has cleared former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke of bribery charges after an 11-year investigation by the UK’s National Crime Agency. She was found not guilty of five counts of accepting bribes and conspiracy to commit bribery. Her brother and an oil executive were also acquitted. The defence argued the case was flawed, with vital evidence missing and an unjust delay in bringing the case to court.
