A Nigerian anti-corruption group said Sunday that the acquittal of former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke by a British court does not end ongoing corruption investigations and asset recovery efforts against her in Nigeria.
The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) said the June 17 verdict by a Southwark Crown Court jury must be respected but applies only to the specific bribery charges tried under UK law.
“The UK judgment should be respected for what it is: a decision on the specific criminal charges for crimes committed under the UK laws that were before the court,” HEDA chairman Olanrewaju Suraju said in a statement.
“It should neither be misrepresented as proof of guilt nor as a blanket determination of every allegation, investigation or asset-recovery proceeding connected to the former minister.”
HEDA, which has tracked the case for years and included it in its Compendium of 100 High-Profile Corruption Cases, urged Nigerian authorities to continue pursuing any viable cases based on credible evidence and due process.
The group stressed that criminal prosecution and asset recovery are separate processes. The failure of one criminal case does not automatically resolve related asset proceedings.
It called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other agencies to independently assess available evidence while upholding constitutional protections, including the right to a fair hearing.
“Nigeria must not wait for foreign courts to determine whether Nigerians accused of corruption should face justice,” the statement said.
“Our institutions must sustain and improve the investigative capacity, evidence-gathering systems and international cooperation mechanisms required to pursue complex corruption cases, wherever the proceeds may have been moved.”
HEDA noted the case’s international dimension, involving assets in the UK and United States, and demanded greater transparency on the status of all related proceedings and the management of recovered assets.
“The ultimate test is not whether justice can be obtained in London or any other foreign jurisdiction. The test is whether Nigeria has institutions capable of investigating credible allegations, prosecuting cases based on evidence, recovering the proceeds of corruption and ensuring that those resources are returned transparently to the Nigerian people,” Suraju said.
