The bribery trial of Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, is underway at Southwark Crown Court in London, placing renewed international focus on long-running corruption allegations tied to Nigeria’s oil sector.
Alison-Madueke, 65, has pleaded not guilty to six charges related to bribery and conspiracy. The trial, which began on January 27, is expected to last up to three months.
Events Leading To The Charges
Diezani Alison-Madueke rose through Nigeria’s oil industry after joining Shell Petroleum Development Company in 1992, later becoming the firm’s first female executive director.
Her political career gathered momentum with ministerial appointments in Transportation and Mines and Steel Development, before she was named Minister of Petroleum Resources in 2010 under President Goodluck Jonathan.
In that role, she oversaw the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and later became the first woman to serve as President of OPEC between 2014 and 2015.
Her tenure was shadowed by persistent allegations of corruption, favoritism and opaque oil deals involving billions of dollars.
Matters escalated after the 2015 election of President Muhammadu Buhari, whose administration prioritized anti corruption reforms. Alison-Madueke left Nigeria for the United Kingdom shortly before the transition.
In October 2015, she was arrested in London by the UK National Crime Agency as part of a joint investigation with Nigerian authorities. Over the years, multiple probes followed across jurisdictions.
In the UK, courts ordered the forfeiture of millions of pounds in assets deemed proceeds of crime. In Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission filed several charges accusing her of diverting large sums from NNPC funds and laundering money through shell companies.
The United States also pursued civil forfeiture actions linked to properties, cash and luxury assets allegedly bought with stolen oil revenues.
Despite these developments, Alison-Madueke consistently denied wrongdoing, describing the accusations as politically motivated. Health challenges, including cancer treatment, contributed to delays in formal prosecution. UK authorities eventually filed criminal charges in August 2023 after extended investigations.
Proceedings And Developments In The UK Trial
The London trial focuses on allegations that between 2011 and 2015, Alison-Madueke accepted bribes from oil industry figures in exchange for influencing oil contracts and strategic decisions involving state entities.
Prosecutors allege she enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle funded by businessmen who benefited from lucrative oil deals.
Evidence presented so far includes claims of millions of pounds spent on luxury shopping at Harrods and other high end stores, exclusive use of multimillion pound properties in London and the countryside, cash payments, private jet travel, chauffeur services and school fees for her son.
Prosecutors say these benefits were provided by oil executives whose companies secured or retained valuable contracts.
The court has also heard about alleged payments routed through associates and family members, including claims involving her brother, Doye Agama. Recorded phone calls and text messages from seized devices have been played to the jury, with prosecutors arguing they show awareness of the sensitive nature of the benefits she received.
Alison-Madueke and her co defendants have all pleaded not guilty. Her legal team is expected to argue that the items and services cited were lawful gifts or personal arrangements unrelated to official decisions, and that no improper influence was exercised.
As proceedings continue into their third day, the case has attracted wide attention in Nigeria and beyond, seen as a major test of international cooperation against corruption.
The outcome could have significant implications for ongoing asset recovery efforts and future extradition requests, while the trial itself continues to unravel years of alleged dealings at the heart of Nigeria’s oil wealth.
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