Diezani Alison-Madueke walks free after UK court acquits her of all bribery charges

BREAKING: Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's former Minister of Petroleum Resources, has been acquitted of all six bribery charges by a UK court. The jury at Southwark Crown Court in London delivered the verdict yesterday, June 17, after over 46 hours of deliberation. She was facing five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, all of which she denied.

In her reaction, Diezani said the trial was traumatic for her and her family but she gave glory to God. She said, and I quote: 'God no be man wey e go lie. So wen e promise you somtin, e go do am. E don almost be 11 years wey I don dey here. I bin do my job to di best of my ability.' Her brother Doye Agama and oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde were also acquitted of related charges.

This verdict is a serious blow to the British authorities who spent over ten years investigating corruption allegations against her. Diezani was the first female president of OPEC and served under President Goodluck Jonathan from 2010 to 2015. The question now is: what does this mean for the billions of dollars Nigeria allegedly lost under her watch? Will the EFCC still pursue asset recovery here at home?