British prosecutors told a UK court that former Nigerian petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke accepted luxury properties, high-end goods and other benefits as bribes from people seeking oil and gas contracts during her time in office.
Prosecutors at Southwark Crown Court in London said Alison-Madueke, who served as Nigeria’s minister of petroleum resources from 2010 to 2015 and once led the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was provided with use of expensive homes in the UK and lavish items by industry figures who believed she would favour them in securing contracts with Nigerian state-owned companies.
Evidence presented in court showed that a Nigerian businessman, Kolawole Aluko (named in the prosecution but not on trial), spent more than £2 million on luxury goods for Alison-Madueke at Harrods and bought a mansion outside London where she and her family frequently stayed. Prosecutors said Aluko also paid for bills, staff and refurbishment of the property.
Prosecutors told jurors Alison-Madueke also received other benefits, including the use of a chauffeur-driven car, private jet flights and payment of her son’s school fees, though they said there was no direct evidence she awarded contracts improperly as a result of the benefits. They argued that it was nonetheless improper for a public official to accept such advantages from those doing business with government-owned entities.
Alison-Madueke and her co-accused — oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde and her brother Doye Agama — have pleaded not guilty to charges of accepting bribes and conspiracy to commit bribery. All three deny wrongdoing.
The trial continues as the court examines evidence of alleged corruption linked to Nigeria’s oil sector.
