“God Is Not Man” – Diezani Allison-Madueke

By Adesina Soyooye 

On stepping out of the Southwark Crown Court, London, immediately after she was acquitted of all the charges   against her, former Nigeria’s Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison- Madueke proclaimed “God is not man.”

Allison Madueke, Minister of Petroleum under the President Goodluck Jonathan Administration, had, for 10 years and counting, been under prosecution on allegations which bordered on bribery while she was in office.

But on Wednesday, June 17, 2026,  she was given a clean bill by the Southwark Crown Court.

She described her  trial as arduous and said the matter  “weighed heavily” upon her and her family. 

In a Press Release issued and signed on her behalf by Bolouere Opukiri thereafter, she noted, that “a decade of unrelenting and unjust vilification, condemnation and scrutiny” has finally ended

For now, she disclosed, she intends to embrace the freedom that has been unjustly denied her for many years 

Allison-Madueke: “Today, at Southwark Crown Court, I was acquitted of all charges brought against me.

“For eleven arduous years, this matter has weighed heavily upon me and my family. Today, a decade of unrelenting and unjust vilification, condemnation, and scrutiny has finally concluded.

“I give thanks to Almighty God for His faithfulness and for the complete vindication I have received. I am grateful to my legal counsel for their diligence, and to my family and friends for their steadfast support and encouragement throughout this period.

“I am profoundly relieved. My name has been cleared, and this ordeal has come to an end.

“This, however, is not the final chapter. In due course, I shall address this difficult period in greater detail and share my intentions for the future. For now, I intend to embrace the freedom that has been unjustly denied me for many years.”

Acquitted along with Allison-Madueke were her elder brother, Doye Agama, 69, Archbishop at a Manchester Pentecostal Church. He was acquitted of conspiracy to commit bribery. An Oil Executive, Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, was also acquitted of bribery and bribery of a foreign public official.

Allison-Madueke was Nigeria’s Oil Minister between 2010 and 2015, and was the first female President  of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC.