'They Destroyed My Reputation' — Diezani Speaks After UK Acquittal

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has spoken publicly for the first time since her acquittal in the United Kingdom, saying the lengthy corruption investigation against her damaged her reputation, restricted her freedom and caused lasting emotional trauma.

In an interview with the BBC, Alison-Madueke said the probe by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) had a profound impact on her life despite ending with a jury clearing her of all bribery charges.

"I've not been allowed to travel. I've not been allowed to work. They destroyed my reputation and my integrity," she said.

The former minister, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan and later became the first female president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), described the experience as painful and psychologically draining.

"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."

Alison-Madueke was arrested in London in 2015 but was not formally charged until 2023.

She faced allegations of accepting luxury gifts and benefits from oil industry figures seeking contracts in Nigeria. However, a jury at Southwark Crown Court recently acquitted her of five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery after a trial that began earlier this year.

'I Made Enemies In The Oil Sector'

The former petroleum minister also suggested that efforts she made to combat corruption within Nigeria's oil industry contributed to the challenges she later faced.

According to her, investigators failed to fully appreciate the political and commercial realities surrounding the sector.

"I think that being such a low-hanging fruit in terms of opposition and the accusations they were throwing at me throughout that period, I wish they had taken a step back and looked with a little more depth at the actual truth of the situation on ground," she said.

She argued that some of the reforms she pursued as petroleum minister were resisted by powerful interests within the industry.

"Also, the things that I tried to do to put in place in terms of pushing back and fighting corruption in the oil sector, which had not gone down well with many of the cabals in the sector at home."

Alison-Madueke also referenced the challenges she faced as a woman occupying some of the most powerful positions in the global energy industry.

"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.

Questions over missing documents, the former minister further claimed that documents she believes could have strengthened her defence disappeared after being removed from her Abuja residence in 2015.

According to her, the materials included receipts that would have shown certain payments made on her behalf had been reimbursed.

"Those items were taken away by our intelligence forces," she alleged.

She did not provide evidence for the claim during the interview.

Alison-Madueke said she now intends to review several asset forfeiture proceedings linked to her name, arguing that she was unable to challenge some of the allegations because she had not been formally charged in those cases.

Asked who should be held responsible for the failures that ultimately led to the collapse of the prosecution, she responded: "There's a bit of blame everywhere."

The former minister spent nearly 11 years in the United Kingdom under the shadow of the investigation before being cleared by a London jury.

Her acquittal has reignited debate in Nigeria over one of the country's most high-profile corruption cases and the wider scrutiny of former public officials accused of financial misconduct.