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Diezani Alison-Madueke pictured successful January connected her mode to the proceedings successful Southwark.
A erstwhile Nigerian lipid curate has been cleared of taking bribes from affluent lipid executives successful the signifier of luxury location stays and lavish spending sprees successful the UK.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, 65, was recovered not blameworthy aft a proceedings astatine London's Southwark Crown Court of 5 counts of accepting bribes and a complaint of conspiracy to perpetrate bribery.
Alison-Madueke was Nigeria's lipid curate betwixt 2010 and 2015 and the archetypal pistillate president of the lipid exporters radical Opec.
The verdict is simply a stroke for the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), which had been investigating 1 of Africa's astir salient governmental figures for 13 years.
From the commencement of the proceedings successful January, defence lawyers questioned the fairness of the prosecution's case, suggesting captious documents showing Alison-Madueke's innocence had gone missing successful Nigeria.
They besides said the agelong hold successful bringing the lawsuit to tribunal was unjust and a motion of Britain's "broken transgression justness system".
Also cleared by the assemblage were Alison-Madueke's older member Doye Agama, 69, an archbishop astatine a Pentecostal religion successful Manchester, who was acquitted of conspiracy to perpetrate bribery.
Oil manufacture enforcement Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, was recovered not blameworthy of bribery and bribery of a overseas nationalist official.
She had faced prosecution contempt being an informant successful an anti-corruption probe by the Nigerian authorities.
Alison-Madueke portrayed herself successful tribunal arsenic a relation exemplary for women, a tireless combatant against corruption, and idiosyncratic who was specified a stickler for the rules she was nicknamed "Madam owed process".
She became the archetypal pistillate subordinate connected the Nigerian committee of lipid and state elephantine Shell successful 2006, and 4 years aboriginal was appointed lipid minister, the country's 2nd astir elder politician. She became president of Opec successful 2014.
"In a precise patriarchal society, to person a pistillate sitting astatine the helm was a large no-no," she told the court, suggesting this had made her a people for unnamed antheral opponents.
Prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC said the erstwhile curate improperly allowed almighty men with lucrative authorities contracts successful the lipid concern to bankroll her extravagant lifestyle.
Six of them were named connected the indictment, though nary were charged.
But the prosecution failed to supply grounds she awarded contracts to immoderate of the lipid tycoons named due to the fact that of bribes.
"At nary clip did I ask, take, or seek a bribe oregon bribes of immoderate sort," Alison-Madueke told the court, saying galore of the luxury items purchased were not for her, and that she had been with the lipid men to connection proposal connected interior plan successful their ain properties.
Alison-Madueke told the tribunal that Nigerian ministers were not allowed to clasp overseas slope accounts erstwhile connected work overseas, and her department's bureau successful London was successful specified disarray that she relied connected affluent businessmen backing her surviving expenses.
She said they were ever reimbursed successful Nigeria and grounds proving this had been seized from her location successful Abuja but ne'er produced by the authorities there.
Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, who had appointed Alison-Madueke, did not look arsenic a witness. But helium provided a connection successful which helium said 3rd parties would often wage for transport, accommodation and different items for ministers connected authoritative overseas business.
Questions raised by the case
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Diezani Alison-Madueke, pictured astatine an Opec league successful 2010, said the verdict means her "nightmare is over"
There were a fig of unanswered questions that look to person fatally undermined the prosecution.
Defence barrister Jonathan Laidlaw KC questioned wherefore the Nigerian authorities had not sought to prosecute Alison-Madueke.
He said Alison-Madueke had "effectively been kept captive successful this state for astir 11 years… incapable to work, incapable to travel" portion the NCA had "done thing to bring astir the extradition" of the six lipid men said to person paid bribes to her.
The assemblage was not told wherefore they had not been charged.
The defence claimed the probe had been compromised from the commencement due to the fact that the NCA was denied entree to the hunt of Alison-Madueke's Abuja location successful 2015.
They relied connected enactment done connected their behalf by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
But portion the prosecution told the assemblage to spot however the EFCC had gathered grounds against Alison-Madueke, astatine the aforesaid clip it advised them to disregard the commission's grounds successful narration to a co-defendant successful the trial.
The defence lawsuit of Olatimbo Ayinde, the lipid manufacture enforcement who was besides recovered not blameworthy by the jury, was she had been moving arsenic an informant for the Nigerian authorities to exposure corruption.
Ayinde, a Nigerian businesswoman with British citizenship, said she been encouraged by the westbound African country's information services to "play along" with those successful authorities who were asking her for bribes.
An EFCC investigator, who had travelled to London from Nigeria, told the tribunal Ayinde had fixed "vital accusation that assisted the investigation".
"Miss Ayinde's program was to assistance instrumentality enforcement and present she's determination successful the dock," said her barrister Jonathan Lennon KC who had sought unsuccessfully to person his client's lawsuit thrown retired of court.
In a connection aft the verdict, Alison-Madueke said her "nightmare is over".
She said: "For 11 long, gruelling years this lawsuit has hung implicit my caput and has tormented maine and my family. But today, the past decennary of relentless and unjust vilification, condemnation and scrutiny has yet travel to an end."
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