The corruption trial of Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former Nigerian oil minister and the first woman president of OPEC, is set to begin in London on Monday. The 65-year-old faces five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, all related to her time as Nigeria’s Minister for Petroleum Resources between 2010 and 2015 when Goodluck Jonathan was Nigeria’s president. Alison-Madueke is accused of accepting “financial or other advantages” from individuals linked to two energy groups between 2011 and 2015.
These included the use of, refurbishment work on and staff costs at several London properties, furniture, chauffeur-driven cars, a private jet flight to Nigeria and £100,000 ($137,000) in cash. Other counts allege she received bribes including school fees for her son, products from high-end shops such as Harrods and Louis Vuitton, and further private jet flights. Accepting these bribes constituted “improper performance” of her duties as oil minister, the indictment said.
She appeared at a London court last week for preliminary proceedings, including technical matters and jury selection, ahead of the trial, which is expected to last 10 to 12 weeks. Two others, Doye Agama and Olatimbo Ayinde, are also being prosecuted on bribery charges linked to the case. Alison-Madueke has been on bail since she was first arrested in London in October 2015.
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She has denied the charges against her. In 2023 she was formally charged with offences of accepting bribes, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said. “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts,” the NCA said at the time. Earlier in 2023 the NCA, which targets international and serious and organised crime, said it provided evidence to US prosecutors allowing them to recover assets totalling $53.1 million linked to Alison-Madueke’s alleged corruption.
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