A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London has acquitted former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, of all six bribery-related charges brought against her, bringing to a close a corruption investigation that lasted more than a decade.

After deliberating for over 46 hours, the jury found Alison-Madueke not guilty of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

The verdict marks a significant setback for British prosecutors and the National Crime Agency (NCA), which had spent more than 11 years investigating allegations surrounding the former minister’s conduct while in office.

Alison-Madueke, 65, served as Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources from 2010 to 2015 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Prosecutors alleged that she received luxury gifts and benefits from oil industry executives seeking influence over major contracts in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

The prosecution claimed that the former minister enjoyed a lavish lifestyle funded by businessmen with interests in the petroleum industry, citing luxury travel, expensive furniture, designer handbags and other high-value items as alleged benefits.

However, Alison-Madueke consistently denied all allegations, maintaining throughout the trial that she neither accepted bribes nor used her position to grant favours to individuals or companies.

While testifying in her defence, she told the court that she did not seek out meetings with oil executives and argued that many of the meetings, trips and arrangements cited by prosecutors were initiated by others.

She also informed the court that she was undergoing cancer treatment during parts of the period under investigation, which she said affected her recollection of some events.

The former minister further stated that official travel, accommodation and related logistics were typically handled by government institutions, particularly the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and not by her personally.

The acquittal effectively concludes one of the most closely watched international corruption cases involving a former Nigerian public official.