CISLAC Urges Nigeria to Pursue Diezani's Corruption Cases

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has called on the Nigerian government to diligently pursue outstanding civil and criminal cases involving former Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani Alison-Madueke. This appeal follows her recent acquittal by a London court, where she was found not guilty of six bribery conspiracy charges after a 46-hour deliberation.

CISLAC's Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, described the verdict from Southwark Crown Court as a setback for international anti-corruption efforts. Diezani, who served as Minister from 2010 to 2015, faces multiple corruption allegations both in Nigeria and abroad.

CISLAC insists that the acquittal should compel Nigerian authorities to strengthen domestic accountability mechanisms and pursue justice through local institutions. The organization criticized the lack of political will to prosecute high-profile corruption cases in Nigeria and called for reforms in civil asset recovery mechanisms and crime legislation to improve investigations and evidence gathering.