Diezani walks free: UK court clears ex-oil minister of all bribery charges

Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has been found not guilty of all bribery charges at Southwark Crown Court in London yesterday. The 65-year-old, who served under President Goodluck Jonathan between 2010 and 2015, was cleared of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. The verdict is a major blow to the UK's National Crime Agency which spent 13 years investigating one of Africa's most powerful women.

During the trial, Diezani told the court she was nicknamed 'Madam due process' for her strict adherence to rules. Her defence argued that vital documents proving her innocence had gone missing in Nigeria and that she had been 'effectively kept prisoner in this country for almost 11 years, unable to work, unable to travel'. Also cleared were her brother Doye Agama, an archbishop in Manchester, and oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde who the court heard was working as an informant for Nigerian authorities to expose corruption.

The prosecution failed to provide evidence that Diezani awarded contracts to any of the six oil tycoons named in the indictment in exchange for bribes. She maintained in court that she never asked for or took a bribe of any sort. The question many Nigerians are asking now is if the Nigerian government will pursue its own case against her or if this is the end of the road.