The corruption trial of Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former oil minister and the first woman to serve as president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is set to begin Monday in London.
Alison-Madueke, 65, faces five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, linked to her tenure as Nigeria’s minister of petroleum resources from 2010 to 2015 under then-President Goodluck Jonathan.
Prosecutors allege she accepted “financial or other advantages” from individuals connected to two energy companies between 2011 and 2015. The alleged benefits include the use and renovation of several London properties, payment of staff costs, furniture, chauffeur-driven vehicles, private jet flights to Nigeria and about 100,000 pounds ($137,000) in cash.
Additional charges accuse her of receiving bribes in the form of school fees for her son, luxury goods from retailers such as Harrods and Louis Vuitton, and further private jet travel. Prosecutors said the alleged payments amounted to the improper performance of her duties as oil minister.
Alison-Madueke appeared in a London court last week for preliminary hearings, including jury selection and other procedural matters. The trial is expected to last between 10 and 12 weeks.
Two other defendants, Doye Agama and Olatimbo Ayinde, are also facing bribery charges connected to the case.
Alison-Madueke has been on bail since her arrest in London in October 2015 and has denied all charges. Britain’s National Crime Agency formally charged her in 2023, saying it believed she abused her position in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards in exchange for awarding multimillion-pound contracts.
Earlier in 2023, the agency said it provided evidence to U.S. authorities that led to the recovery of assets worth $53.1 million allegedly linked to Alison-Madueke’s corruption. The seized assets included luxury properties in California and New York and a 65-meter (213-foot) superyacht, Galactica Star, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Born in 1960 in the oil-producing city of Port Harcourt, Alison-Madueke studied architecture in Britain and the United States before beginning her career with Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary.
