Nigeria’s former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, says God “completely vindicated” her after Southwark Crown Court in the United Kingdom acquitted her of corruption-related charges.

“I am deeply relieved. My name is cleared. This nightmare is over,” Mrs Alison-Madueke said in a statement on Wednesday. “I thank God Almighty for His faithfulness and for completely vindicating me.” 

Mrs Alison-Madueke was first arrested in London in October 2015 and was charged in 2023 with five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

British prosecutors accused her of receiving at least £100,000 and other benefits they called “financial or other advantages” from oil and gas titans who sought lucrative contracts. 

Among other “life of luxury” benefits prosecutors said she enjoyed were private-jet flights, chauffeur-driven cars, the use and upkeep of a London property, luxury goods, and school fees for her son.

Mrs Alison-Madueke was tried alongside Ayinde Olatimbo Bukola and Agama Doye as the first, second, and third defendants. The trial began in January this year.

The former minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration between 2010 and 2015 denied any wrongdoing but had been on bail.

Following more than 46 hours of deliberation by the jury, Mrs Alison-Madueke was cleared of all charges.

“For eleven long, gruelling years, this case has hung over my head and has tormented me and my family,” Mrs Alison-Madueke said after the court ruling. “But today, the past decade of relentless and unjust vilification, condemnation, and scrutiny has finally come to an end.”

Mr Alison-Madueke, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) president between 2014 and 2015, described the decades-long investigation as the “dark period”.

“I will speak more about this dark period and my plans for the future, but right now I am going to enjoy the freedom that has been unjustly stolen from me for far too many years,” she added.

Mrs Allison-Madueke has pending corruption and money laundering cases in Nigeria.