The former Nigerian minister for petroleum resources under the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been arraigned before the London Southwark Crown Court, United Kingdom, presided over by Justice Justine Thornton, accused of multiple counts of bribery between 2011 and 2015.
Being prosecuted alongside Alison-Madueke are Doye Agama, her brother, and Olatimbo Ayinde.
Alison-Madueke, the first woman president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was accused of enjoying a “life of luxury” from bribes taken when she was Nigeria’s oil minister.
British prosecutors informed the court that at the time Madueke was serving as a minister in Nigeria, those who were interested in “lucrative oil and gas contracts” with Nigeria’s state-owned petroleum corporation provided “significant financial or other advantages” to her.
The prosecutor pointed out that as a minister, she should not have accepted benefits from those who were doing, no doubt extremely lucrative, business in oil and gas with government-owned entities.”
The prosecutor informed the court that Alison-Madueke was accepting “financial or other advantages” from individuals linked to the Atlantic Energy and SPOG Petrochemical groups, which secured contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or its subsidiaries.
She was also accused of receiving £100,000 ($137,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, a private jet flight to Nigeria, and refurbishment work and staff costs at several London properties.
Other counts allege she received bribes, including school fees for her son, products from high-end shops such as the Harrods department store and Louis Vuitton, and further private jet flights.
However, Alison Madueke denied the charges preferred against her
