LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was found not guilty of six bribery charges by a London jury on Wednesday, after a rare corruption trial of a high-profile former energy official.
The verdicts are a major blow to British authorities, who began their investigation into corruption allegations against Alison-Madueke more than a decade ago.
"This case has exposed just how tough it is to investigate and prosecute alleged corruption involving political elites," said Zainab Saleem from campaign group Spotlight on Corruption.
Alison-Madueke, the first woman to be Nigeria's minister for petroleum resources, who served 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.
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 also briefly served as president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and had long faced allegations of corruption, said she never took any bribes and had no real influence over the awarding of contracts.
EX-MINISTER SAYS 'GRUELLING' CASE FINALLY OVER
Alison-Madueke's lawyers argued the spending cited by the prosecution was reimbursed, by the Nigerian state for official business or by herself for personal expenses, and she gave evidence that she was thought of as "Madame Due Process."
Following a trial at London's Southwark Crown Court that began in January, Alison-Madueke was acquitted after more than 46 hours of jury deliberation, after which she said her "nightmare is over."
"For 11 long, gruelling years this case has hung over my head and has tormented me and my family," Alison-Madueke said in a statement issued by her spokesperson.
"But today, the past decade of relentless and unjust vilification, condemnation and scrutiny has finally come to an end."
A spokesperson for Britain's National Crime Agency said: "We respect the decision of the jury."
NOT-GUILTY VERDICTS FOLLOW YEARS OF ALLEGATIONS
Alison-Madueke survived multiple scandals and probes into the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation before leaving government when Jonathan lost power in 2015.
She was also a target of U.S. authorities, who alleged the proceeds of illicitly awarded contracts were laundered through the U.S.
British prosecutors did not allege at Alison-Madueke's trial that there was evidence she had awarded contracts to those who should not have had them; they merely sought to prove it was "improper" for her to accept benefits.
The U.S. Department of Justice, however, said in 2017 that Alison-Madueke "used her influence to steer lucrative oil contracts" to senior executives who had paid her bribes.
Also on trial was oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who was acquitted of 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 also acquitted of conspiracy to commit bribery with his sister relating to payments made to Agama's church.
LENGTHY TRIAL ALMOST COLLAPSED BEFORE VERDICTS
Alison-Madueke's trial almost collapsed shortly before the jury began its deliberations, having also survived a separate attempt by the former oil minister to have the case thrown out.
Her arguments that Nigerian investigators were themselves corrupt and that British prosecutors had not chased all relevant leads were rejected before trial.
But Ayinde's allegations that she was a "whistleblower" who reported corruption to Bola Tinubu, who became president in 2023, caused a long delay which nearly ended the trial.
Ayinde was accused of bribing the then-managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, in 2015. She said she was approached for a bribe by Kachikwu's brother and reported it to the Nigerian authorities, whom she said told her to "play along."
In March, Nigeria's attorney general — who was in London accompanying Tinubu on a state visit — sent a letter on behalf of Nigeria's Department of State Services to Ayinde's lawyers, saying she had made a report to the authorities.
Ayinde subsequently sought to have the charge relating to Kachikwu thrown out, but the judge ruled against her. The jury subsequently cleared her of both charges.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin, Robert Harvey and Michael Holden in London; Editing by William James, Bill Berkrot and Matthew Lewis)
