Former Nigerian minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been acquitted of bribery charges by a court in the United Kingdom.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London on Wednesday found the former Nigerian oil minister not guilty of six counts bordering on bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery.
Alison-Madueke served as minister of petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015 under the administration of Goodluck Jonathan.
The 65-year-old was accused of accepting bribes from oil and gas industry figures seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria.
Prosecutors alleged that she was provided with “a life of luxury” in London in exchange for influence over the award of contracts.
However, Alison-Madueke denied all the allegations and maintained throughout the trial that she never accepted bribes and had no direct influence over the award of government contracts.
After more than 46 hours of deliberations, the jury returned unanimous not-guilty verdicts on all six charges.
