Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been acquitted of all bribery charges brought against her by a court in the United Kingdom.
The judgment was delivered on Wednesday by the Southwark Crown Court in London after a jury returned a not-guilty verdict on all six counts against the former Nigerian official. The decision came after more than 46 hours of deliberation by jurors.
Alison-Madueke had been accused of bribery and corruption linked to her time in public office. However, the jury cleared her of all allegations after reviewing the evidence presented during the trial.
The case drew widespread attention in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom because of her influential role in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and the numerous investigations that followed her tenure as petroleum minister.
With the verdict, Alison-Madueke has been formally exonerated of the criminal charges filed against her in the UK.
The ruling brings to a close one of the most closely watched legal cases involving a former Nigerian public official in the United Kingdom.
More details are expected to emerge.
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