Diezani Alison-Madueke, the former minister of petroleum resources, says her acquittal on bribery charges has ended years of โunjust vilificationโ.
Alison-Madueke was acquitted by the Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom (UK), of all six charges after hours of deliberation on Wednesday.
The former ministerโs bribery allegations started when she was first arrested in London in October 2015, just months after leaving office as a cabinet member, but was later released on bail.
Diezaniโs trial began in January after the UK government charged her in August 2023 over an alleged ยฃ100,000 bribe.
UK prosecutors accused the former minister of accepting bribes in the form of luxury goods and use of high-level properties from industry figures in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts during her time in office.
Alison-Maduekeโs counsel told the jury that she had limited control over oil contract approvals during her time in office, as most decisions were made before reaching her desk.
Reacting to the verdict in a video, the former minister thanked God and all those who stood by her during the trial, describing the experience as โarduousโ and โtraumaticโ.
โIโm just thankful to God. Itโs been a very, very arduous and long, almost 11 years. Itโs been traumatic not just for me but for my family, for friends, for all those who have stayed and supported, for my 93-year-old mother in Port Harcourt, for my son, and for all those who love us, friends and family. Weโre surrounded by friends here. So it has been a hard journey,โ she said.
โBut I tell you this, God will always do as God wills, and God will be God. God is not a man that he should lie. So when he promises you something, he will see it through.
โIt has been almost 11 years Iโve been here. I did my job to the best of my ability, but like I said, God is not a man that he should lie. God is God, and we thank him.โ
Also, in a statement issued by Bolouere Opukiri, her representative, Alison-Madueke said โa decade of unrelenting and unjust vilification, condemnation, and scrutiny has finally concludedโ.
โI give thanks to Almighty God for His faithfulness and for the complete vindication I have received. I am grateful to my legal counsel for their diligence and to my family and friends for their steadfast support and encouragement throughout this period,โ the statement reads.
โI am profoundly relieved. My name has been cleared, and this ordeal has come to an end.โ
Allison-Madueke said she would speak about the events of the past decade and her future plans โin due courseโ but, in the meantime, would focus on embracing what she described as the freedom she had been unjustly denied for many years
Credit: The Cable
