A London court has acquitted former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, of all bribery charges brought against her following a lengthy investigation by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

Alison-Madueke, 65, was found not guilty by a jury at Southwark Crown Court of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Her brother, Doye Agama, and oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde were also cleared of all charges.

The former minister, who served under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan between 2010 and 2015 and became the first female president of OPEC in 2014, had been accused of accepting luxury accommodation, expensive gifts and lavish spending funded by wealthy oil executives.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged that businessmen with government-linked oil interests financed her extravagant lifestyle. However, the prosecution failed to establish that Alison-Madueke awarded contracts in exchange for the alleged benefits.

In her defence, Alison-Madueke denied ever soliciting or accepting bribes, insisting that many of the expenses were either reimbursed or unrelated to her personal benefit. She also argued that key documents supporting her case had not been produced by Nigerian authorities.

Defence lawyers criticised the 11-year delay in bringing the case to trial and questioned why neither the Nigerian government nor the alleged bribe payers had been prosecuted.

Following the verdict, Alison-Madueke said her “nightmare is over,” describing the case as more than a decade of “relentless and unjust vilification” that had affected both her and her family.