A former archbishop who stood trial alongside his sister, the only woman ever to have led Opec, in a major corruption case involving luxury properties, private jets and designer items, has been acquitted.
Doye Agama, 69, the former archbishop of the Apostolic Pastoral Congress, was accused of receiving bribes for his church as part of a scheme prosecutors said was orchestrated by his sister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Alison-Madueke, 64, served as Nigeria's petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 and was elected president of Opec in 2014. She faced six bribery charges, including allegations that she accepted properties in London's Regent's Park and St John's Wood, chauffeur-driven cars, chartered flights, jewellery from Cartier, and designer goods from Harrods and Louis Vuitton.
Her brother, Bishop Agama, was also cleared of conspiring with her and oil executives to "give a financial advantage" to his Christian Way of Life Church and the Apostolic Pastoral Congress.
Agama, who grew up in Southampton before reconnecting with his Nigerian family in the 1960s, was ordained bishop in Manchester and installed as archbishop in a ceremony at Southwark Cathedral in 2013. He retired from active leadership in 2021.
Both siblings always denied any wrongdoing.
Alison-Madueke's lawyers argued that the spending cited by the prosecution was reimbursed by the Nigerian state for official business or by Alison-Madueke herself for personal expenses, and she gave evidence that she was known as "Madame Due Process".
Following a trial at London's Southwark Crown Court that began in January, Alison-Madueke was acquitted after more than 46 hours of jury deliberation, after which she said her "nightmare is over".
"For 11 long, gruelling years this case has hung over my head and has tormented me and my family," Alison-Madueke said in a statement issued by her spokesperson.
"But today, the past decade of relentless and unjust vilification, condemnation and scrutiny has finally come to an end."
A spokesperson for Britain's National Crime Agency said: "We respect the jury's decision."
