Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has criticised British law enforcement authorities following her acquittal on bribery charges, saying the 13-year investigation by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) devastated her life, reputation and career.

Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Alison-Madueke, said the prolonged probe subjected her to years of emotional and psychological distress despite her insistence that she had committed no wrongdoing.

“I’ve not been allowed to travel. I’ve not been allowed to work. They destroyed my reputation and my integrity,” she said.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday found the former minister not guilty of five counts of accepting bribes and conspiracy to commit bribery, bringing to an end a legal battle that began with her arrest in 2015.

Alison-Madueke, who served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 and was the first female president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), described the experience as traumatic.

“When your freedom is taken away from you, it has a very deep impact upon you psychologically,” she said.

“I knew that I had never done anything nefarious and I had never done any of the heinous things I was being accused of doing.”

Prosecutors had alleged that Alison-Madueke received lavish benefits from wealthy oil businessmen seeking government contracts, including luxury goods worth about £2 million from Harrods, chauffeur-driven vehicles and access to expensive properties in London and Buckinghamshire.

However, throughout the trial, defence lawyers argued that crucial documents that could have supported her innocence had disappeared in Nigeria.

According to Alison-Madueke, the missing records included receipts showing that payments made on her behalf by oil businessmen had later been reimbursed.

“Those items were taken away by our intelligence forces,” from her residence in Abuja in 2015, she said, adding that she has no knowledge of what became of the documents.

The former minister also questioned the handling of the investigation by both Nigerian and British authorities.

“There’s a bit of blame everywhere,” she said when asked who was responsible for the failures in the case.

“The Nigerian authorities need to look into the processes and practices that they deploy in these cases.”

She further argued that international law enforcement agencies needed to exercise greater caution when pursuing investigations in politically sensitive environments.

“The long arm of the law when you go into other countries, particularly in politically motivated cases, needs to have a lot more sensitivity,” she said.

Alison-Madueke suggested that she became a target because she was perceived as an easy subject for prosecution despite her efforts to reform Nigeria’s oil sector.

“I was the first female to enter this sort of position as Petroleum Minister and as head of OPEC in a very misogynistic society,” she said.

“The NCA should have taken a step back and looked with a little more depth at the truth of the situation on the ground.”

Responding to her criticism, the NCA defended its conduct, stating that it had carried out a “long-running, in-depth and complex investigation” that was regularly reviewed by prosecutors and investigators.

The agency said it worked closely with international partners throughout the probe and respected the verdict reached by the jury.

Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agamas, was also acquitted of conspiracy to commit bribery charges, while oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde was cleared of bribery and bribery of a foreign public official.

Despite her acquittal in the UK, questions remain over assets linked to the former minister. In 2023, the United States Department of Justice announced the recovery of approximately $53 million in assets seized from two oil businessmen named in the UK proceedings, alleging that Alison-Madueke had used her influence to direct lucrative oil contracts to their companies.

Rejecting the allegation, she said she had never been given the opportunity to challenge the claims in court.

“I was never given the opportunity to fight that because I wasn’t even charged,” she said, insisting that all contracts followed due process.

She also dismissed suggestions that assets recovered by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had been directly linked to her.

“The assets that have been forfeited were not actually traced directly to me,” she said.

“I don’t know what has happened to these matters at all. It’s now that I’ll have the freedom to find out what exactly has gone on there.”

The acquittal marks a significant legal victory for Alison-Madueke, who has consistently maintained her innocence throughout one of the most high-profile corruption investigations involving a former Nigerian public official. (This Day)

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