British prosecutors on Tuesday accused Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria's former oil minister and the first woman to chair OPEC, of leading a "luxury life" financed by bribes, at the opening of his trial in London.
Alison-Madueke, 65, appeared in Southwark Royal Court. She is being prosecuted for several alleged acts of corruption committed between 2011 and 2015, during which time she held the post of Minister of Petroleum Resources under the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. According to the prosecution, people interested in obtaining "lucrative oil and gas contracts" with the Nigerian state-owned oil company granted the minister significant financial or material benefits.
"As minister, she should not have accepted benefits from people carrying out extremely lucrative activities with public entities", prosecutors stressed. Diezani Alison-Madueke is notably accused of having benefited from payments and gifts from people linked to the Atlantic Energy and SPOG Petrochemical groups, who allegedly obtained contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or its subsidiaries.
Benefits mentioned include £100,000 in cash (around $137,000), chauffeur-driven vehicles, private jet flights to Nigeria, as well as funding for renovations and staff costs at several London properties. The prosecution also mentions paying his son's school fees, purchases at luxury brands such as Harrods and Louis Vuitton, as well as other trips by private jet.
Former president of OPEC between 2014 and 2015, Alison-Madueke has been the subject of numerous international legal proceedings, notably in the United States. In Nigeria, several of its properties, valued at several million dollars, were seized in 2017. The Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed that several cases remain pending against it.
Arrested for the first time in London in October 2015, the former minister is on bail. She denies all the accusations. In 2023, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) said it suspected Alison-Madueke of abusing her power to obtain financial rewards in exchange for awarding multi-million pound contracts.
Two other people, Doye Agama, his brother, and Olatimbo Ayinde, are also being prosecuted for corruption in this case. According to the prosecution, the three defendants were residing in the United Kingdom at the time of the alleged events. Judge Justine Thornton said she hopes the trial will end by April 24.
