LONDON, United Kingdom — Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former minister of petroleum resources, thanked God and her supporters after a London court cleared her of six bribery-related charges.
The verdict was returned at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, after jurors deliberated for more than 46 hours.
This development brings an end to a trial she described as traumatic for her and those close to her.
“But I tell you this: God will always do what God does, and God will be God. God is not a man that He should lie. So when He promises you something, He will do it,” the former oil minister said.
“It has been almost 11 years that I have been here. I did my job to the best of my ability, but as I said, God is not a man that He should lie. God is God, and we thank Him.”
Alison-Madueke, 65, had denied five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Prosecutors alleged that she had received benefits from figures in the oil and gas industry who were seeking major Nigerian government contracts, describing her as having lived “a life of luxury” in London.
Alison-Madueke maintained during the case that she had not accepted bribes and that she did not have real influence over the award of major government contracts.
Co-Defendants Also Acquitted
Alison-Madueke was tried alongside Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, an oil industry executive, and Doye Agama, 69, her brother.
Ayinde faced one count of bribery connected to Alison-Madueke and a separate count of bribing a foreign public official.
Agama was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery alongside Alison-Madueke over payments he was alleged to have made to his church.
Both Ayinde and Agama denied the charges against them. The court also acquitted them.
Former Petroleum Minister
Alison-Madueke served as Nigeria’s minister of petroleum resources from 2010 to 2015 under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Born on December 6, 1960, in Port Harcourt, she was appointed minister of transportation on July 26, 2007, and later moved to the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in 2008.
In April 2010, Alison-Madueke became Nigeria’s first female minister of petroleum resources.
She later became the first woman to serve as president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at its 166th Ordinary Meeting in Vienna on November 27, 2014.
