Alison-Madueke was first arrested in 2015 but was not formally charged until 2023, raising questions in some quarters about the pace and handling of the investigation
kaNo —
Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has accused authorities in the United Kingdom of destroying her reputation following a failed corruption prosecution that spanned more than a decade.
Alison-Madueke, who was acquitted on Wednesday by a jury at Southwark Crown Court, made the remarks during an interview with the BBC on Friday, describing the experience as both “painful and traumatic.”
Prosecutors claimed she received benefits from oil businessmen with government contracts, including luxury goods, chauffeur-driven vehicles, and access to high-value properties in the United Kingdom.
Reacting to her acquittal, Alison-Madueke said the prolonged investigation had taken a significant toll on her personal and professional life.
“I’ve not been allowed to travel. I’ve not been allowed to work. They destroyed my reputation and my integrity,” she said during the interview.
She added that the psychological impact of the case was profound, noting that restrictions placed on her freedom over the years had lasting consequences.
“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,” she added.
Alison-Madueke was first arrested in 2015 but was not formally charged until 2023, raising questions in some quarters about the pace and handling of the investigation.
During the interview, she also alleged that key documents that could have supported her defence had gone missing in Nigeria.
According to her, the documents included receipts indicating that certain payments made on her behalf had been reimbursed.
“Those items were taken away by our intelligence forces from my Abuja residence in 2015,” she claimed.
She criticised both Nigerian and British authorities over the handling of the case, suggesting that lapses occurred on multiple fronts.
“There’s a bit of blame everywhere,” she said. “The Nigerian authorities need to look into the processes and practices that they deploy in these cases.”
She further urged international law enforcement agencies to exercise greater sensitivity when handling politically exposed persons and cross-border investigations.
“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.
She noted that she was the first woman to serve both as Nigeria’s petroleum minister and as president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
“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.
In response to her comments, an NCA spokesperson defended the agency’s actions, stating that the investigation was thorough and conducted in line with established procedures.
“The NCA conducted a long-running, in-depth and complex investigation that was regularly reviewed by prosecutors and investigators,” the spokesperson said.
The agency added that it worked closely with international partners and maintained impartiality throughout the process.
“A comprehensive file of evidence was presented to the CPS who authorised charges, and we respect the decision of the jury in court,” the spokesperson added.
Alison-Madueke also addressed previous international asset recovery actions linked to her.
However, she insisted she was never given the opportunity to challenge those allegations.
“I was never given the opportunity to fight that because I wasn’t even charged,” she said.
She also questioned claims by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding the recovery of assets and properties allegedly 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.”
Her acquittal extended to other defendants in the case, including her brother, Doye Agamas, and oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde.
Meanwhile, a former presidential aide, Laolu Akande, has urged Alison-Madueke to return to Nigeria and address the corruption allegations against her.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a programme on Channels Television, Akande described the acquittal in the United Kingdom as “exciting news” but maintained that unresolved legal issues remain in Nigeria.
“It’s an exciting news. And she should come home and get these matters sorted,” he said. “She should go through the EFCC cases against her for which quite a significant portion of her properties have been forfeited.”
He added that the time was appropriate for the former minister to defend herself before Nigerian authorities.
“I think the time is now ripe for her to come and defend herself in her own country and let’s see where the pendulum goes,” Akande said.
The EFCC has secured several court-ordered forfeitures of assets linked to her, while Nigerian authorities have made repeated efforts to secure her extradition.
Akande argued that the London court’s verdict should not be seen as the final word on the allegations surrounding her tenure, particularly in relation to Nigeria’s oil sector.
According to him, significant questions remain over controversial oil transactions carried out during her time in office.
He cited a “strategic alliance” arrangement involving the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), in which oil reportedly worth $3 billion was sold without corresponding payments, royalties, or taxes.
“The fact that cannot be denied is that while she was Minister of Petroleum Resources, there was this strategic alliance that was entered into by the NPDC… where oil worth $3 billion was sold without any kind of payment or royalties or taxes,” he said.
Akande further recalled that during his time in government, officials gathered evidence suggesting that Alison-Madueke and others played central roles in the controversial transactions.
