UK court acquits ex-Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, lawyers say Nigerian cases unaffected
Former Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Alison-Madueke has been acquitted of bribery charges by a UK court after over 46 hours of jury deliberation. The trial at Southwark Crown Court resulted in not-guilty verdicts on five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. She served as petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015 under President Goodluck Jonathan.
Chief Rafiu Oyeyemi Balogun, SAN, told Nairametrics that the UK acquittal does not prevent ongoing or fresh investigations by EFCC or ICPC in Nigeria. He explained that double jeopardy—protected under Sections 36(9) and (10) of the Nigerian Constitution—only applies when someone is tried twice in the SAME jurisdiction. Since the UK offences fall outside Nigeria's criminal jurisdiction, Nigerian courts can proceed with separate cases if evidence supports them.
Senior Advocate Johnson J. Usman noted that foreign judgments have persuasive value but are not binding on Nigerian courts. Chris Ekemezie emphasized that each territory has independent legal authority—"She was tried for offending the laws of England, not the laws of Nigeria." Even with similar evidence, Nigerian courts can reach different conclusions. The Federal High Court in Abuja previously rescheduled hearings on Alison-Madueke's challenge to asset forfeiture based on EFCC applications. The UK acquittal does not bar Nigerian prosecutions as criminal jurisdiction is territorial.
Should Nigerian authorities pursue new investigations given the UK outcome, or does this acquittal signal the need for more robust evidence in future cases?