Former Nigerian petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has denied allegations of bribery and corruption before a UK court, insisting she neither solicited nor received illicit payments while in office.
The 65-year-old former minister told Southwark Crown Court on Monday that she had “tried to push back on corruption” during her tenure, describing graft as a longstanding challenge in Nigeria dating back to the colonial era.
Alison-Madueke is standing trial on charges of accepting bribes and conspiracy to commit bribery, with UK prosecutors linking the allegations to the awarding of oil and gas contracts between 2010 and 2015, when she served as petroleum minister.
The case also involves claims that Nigerian businessmen funded her lavish lifestyle in London, including over £2 million spent at Harrods and approximately £4.6 million used to refurbish properties in the capital and Buckinghamshire. Prosecutors allege some purchases were made using payment cards linked to Nigerian businessman Kolawole Aluko and his company, Tenka Limited.
Denying the allegations, Alison-Madueke told the court that expenses incurred on her behalf during official engagements were reimbursed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. She explained that a logistics company was established in London to handle official arrangements due to what she described as a disorganised financial structure at the NNPC at the time.
“They paid for all my hotels, chauffeurs… to allow me to perform the job that I did,” she said, according to BBC reports.
The former minister, who also served as president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries between 2014 and 2015, relocated to the United Kingdom following the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party in Nigeria’s 2015 presidential election. She faces multiple corruption cases in Nigeria, some of which have stalled due to her absence, though Nigerian courts have ordered the forfeiture of assets worth billions of naira linked to her.
Alison-Madueke told the court that some properties cited by prosecutors were used for official purposes, including discreet meetings, while others were either arranged without her involvement or uninhabitable at the time. She cited security concerns, noting she faced kidnapping threats while in office due to the patriarchal nature of Nigerian society.
Also standing trial is oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde, who denies one count of bribery and another of bribing a foreign public official. Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama, faces charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, which he also denies.
The trial continues.
