Lawyer Frank TieTie has called on Nigerians to respond consistently to judicial decisions following the acquittal of former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, by a United Kingdom court on corruption charges.
TieTie made the remarks during an interview on Arise News, on Wednesday, 17 June, 2026, while reacting to the judgment, arguing that the credibility of the UK judicial system should not be questioned simply because its verdict did not align with public expectations.
According to the legal practitioner, the same judicial system that recently acquitted Alison-Madueke had previously secured the convictions of prominent Nigerian public figures, including former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and former Delta State Governor James Ibori, judgments that were widely welcomed in Nigeria.
“Don’t forget this is the same system that convicted Ekweremadu, James Ibori and we hailed it and now that it has actually acquitted Diezani Madueke, it’s interesting that we don’t have to raise dusts as well,” TieTie said.
He maintained that respect for the rule of law requires accepting court decisions regardless of whether they result in convictions or acquittals. He argued that selectively praising a judicial system only when it convicts an accused person undermines confidence in the impartial administration of justice.
TieTie stressed that criminal proceedings are evidence-driven and that judges must determine cases based on the facts presented before the court rather than public opinion or political sentiment. He noted that where the prosecution fails to meet the required burden of proof, the law mandates an acquittal.
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