Nigeria's ex-oil minister Alison-Madueke cleared of all charges after UK corruption trial

Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has been found not guilty by a London jury of six bribery charges, including accepting bribes and conspiracy to commit bribery.

Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke ​was on Wednesday found ‌not guilty ​by a London jury of six bribery charges, after a rare corruption trial of a high-profile former energy ‌official.

Alison-Madueke, minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015 under then-president Goodluck Jonathan, stood trial charged with five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, ‌which she denied. Prosecutors alleged Alison-Madueke, 65, was given "a life of luxury" in London ‌from oil and gas industry figures seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria, which has long grappled with mismanagement and corruption.

But the former minister, who was also briefly president of the Organization of the Petroleum ⁠Exporting ​Countries, said she never ⁠took any bribes and had no real influence over the awarding of lucrative government contracts. After a ⁠trial at London's Southwark Crown Court, Alison-Madueke was acquitted by a jury of all six ​charges she faced after more than 46 hours of deliberation.

The not guilty verdicts ⁠are a major blow to British authorities, which began their investigation into corruption allegations against Alison-Madueke more ⁠than ​a decade ago. Alison-Madueke stood trial alongside oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who was charged with one count of bribery relating to Alison-Madueke and a separate ⁠count of bribery of a foreign public official.

Alison-Madueke's brother Doye Agama, 69, was charged ⁠with conspiracy to commit ⁠bribery with his sister relating to payments made to Agama's church. Both Ayinde and Agama denied the charges against them and were ‌also acquitted ‌by the jury.