A former Nigerian oil minister accused of corruption did not request or receive bribes from industry insiders, a court in London has heard. Diezani Alison-Madueke’s defence barrister told Southwark Crown Court was that money spent on her behalf on properties and luxury goods in the UK was reimbursed in Nigeria. Others paid for her living costs because “Nigerian ministers are forbidden from having bank accounts abroad” said Jonathan Laidlaw KC.
“Those who paid the bills were paid back, in Nigeria…She did not request or receive any financial advantage from these individuals”. Alison-Madueke was Nigeria’s minister of petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015, described in court as the most senior ministerial position after that of the president. She denies five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery.
The court heard how an investigation into her began in 2013. She was first arrested in 2015 at a time when she was receiving cancer treatment in London. She was not charged until 2023.
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There was “a gross delay in bringing these charges” which has placed her at a disadvantage”, said Laidlaw. “She has been denied, forbidden the chance to travel to her home in Nigeria to prepare her defence,” he said. Records at her home in Abuja showing that her living expenses had been reimbursed no longer exist.
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