Ex-Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke cleared in UK bribery trial

Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's former oil minister and the first woman to chair OPEC, has been cleared of all bribery charges following a five-month trial in London, ending an 11-year legal saga.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court found her not guilty of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. The verdicts came after more than 46 hours of deliberation in a case brought by the UK's National Crime Agency.

The charges related to alleged conduct between 2011 and 2015, when she served as Nigeria's minister of petroleum resources. Prosecutors had accused her of accepting "financial or other advantages" from people linked to energy companies that secured contracts with Nigeria's state oil corporation. She had denied wrongdoing throughout.

The jury also cleared her brother, Doye Agama, of conspiracy to commit bribery, and oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde of bribery-related offences. Alison-Madueke, 65, served as oil minister from 2010 to 2015 and became the first woman to lead OPEC in 2014.

The acquittal closes one of the most high-profile international corruption cases involving a former Nigerian official, a case that had drawn attention to scrutiny of the country's oil sector. Speaking after the verdict, she described the experience as a long and traumatic ordeal.