Diezani speaks on London court acquittal, says ‘God is not man’

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has reacted to her acquittal on bribery charges in the United Kingdom, declaring that “God is not man” as she described the verdict as the end of nearly 11 years of what she called unjust scrutiny and vilification.

Alison-Madueke was cleared of all six bribery-related charges by the Southwark Crown Court in London on Wednesday after jurors returned not-guilty verdicts following hours of deliberation.

The former minister had faced allegations dating back to her arrest in London in October 2015, shortly after leaving office. British prosecutors later charged her in 2023, accusing her of accepting luxury goods and access to high-end properties from oil industry figures in exchange for influencing the award of oil and gas contracts during her tenure.

Throughout the trial, Alison-Madueke maintained her innocence, while her legal team argued that she exercised limited control over the approval of oil contracts, insisting that most decisions were made before they reached her office.

Reacting to the verdict, the former minister thanked God, her family, friends and supporters for standing by her during what she described as a difficult and traumatic period spanning almost 11 years.

“It’s been a very arduous and long, almost 11 years. It’s been traumatic not just for me but for my family, friends and all those who have stayed and supported me,” she said in a video message released after the judgment.

She added that her faith sustained her through the ordeal, saying, “God will always do as God wills, and God will be God. God is not a man that he should lie. So when he promises you something, he will see it through.”

In a separate statement issued through her representative, Bolouere Opukiri, Alison-Madueke described the judgment as the end of “a decade of unrelenting and unjust vilification, condemnation and scrutiny,” adding that her name had been cleared and that she would later speak on the events of the past decade and her future plans.