On 17 June 2026, a London jury cleared former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke of bribery charges following a protracted 13-year investigation and a fraught five-month trial that has left a trail of tough questions for UK prosecutors and law enforcement. Her older brother Doye Agama and oil industry insider Olatimbo Ayinde were also acquitted of bribery charges.
Our analysis traces the origins of this investigation and the twists and turns of a dramatic jury trial that culminated in the acquittal of a woman who wielded unprecedented power over Nigeria’s notoriously dysfunctional oil industry. We unpack what went wrong for the prosecution and why it matters for UK and international efforts to tackle corruption.
