Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources and ex-President of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Diezani Alison-Madueke, has formally denied allegations that she accepted bribes, as her long-running corruption trial continued at a London court.
Her legal team made the denial on Thursday at Southwark Crown Court, marking the defence’s first substantive response to charges brought by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA). The 65-year-old former minister was present in court, where she sat in the dock taking notes as proceedings entered their third day.
The case stems from a years-long investigation by the NCA into alleged international bribery and corruption involving senior Nigerian officials and multinational oil interests. Prosecutors allege that Alison-Madueke abused her position while in office to receive illicit payments and benefits in exchange for influencing oil and gas contracts.
The alleged offences are said to have taken place between 2011 and 2015, during her tenure as Nigeria’s oil minister. At the time, she reportedly maintained a residential address in the United Kingdom. British prosecutors accuse her of receiving bribes within the UK during this period.
Earlier in the trial, prosecutors told the court that Alison-Madueke lived a “life of luxury,” allegedly financed by businessmen and companies seeking favourable treatment and lucrative contracts from Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
However, her defence counsel, Jonathan Laidlaw, argued that the prosecution’s case is fundamentally flawed due to what he described as an excessive and damaging delay in bringing charges.
“A great deal of material that would have established her innocence has been denied to her,” Mr Laidlaw told the jury, blaming what he called a “gross delay” in the investigation and prosecution.
He added that Alison-Madueke has been unable to return to Nigeria to properly prepare her defence because British authorities have retained her passport since her arrest in 2015.
The defence further argued that Nigerian ministers are legally prohibited from operating foreign bank accounts, insisting that any expenses allegedly covered for Alison-Madueke in the UK were reimbursed from Nigeria.
According to Mr Laidlaw, documents and records that could have supported this claim were either kept in Nigeria or held by government officials, but are no longer available due to the passage of time.
“Those records have disappeared,” he told the court. “Material critical to her defence is now simply no longer accessible.”
Alison-Madueke is accused of accepting “financial or other advantages” from individuals linked to the Atlantic Energy and SPOG Petrochemical groups. Prosecutors allege that the companies benefited from oil contracts awarded by the NNPC or its subsidiaries during her tenure.
The prosecution claims she received £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven vehicles, a private jet flight to Nigeria, and renovation works and staff expenses at multiple London properties.
Additional allegations include the payment of school fees for her son, the receipt of luxury goods from high-end retailers such as Harrods and Louis Vuitton, and further private jet flights.
Alison-Madueke, who served as OPEC president between 2014 and 2015, has faced multiple investigations in different jurisdictions, including the United States.
She has been on bail in the United Kingdom since her arrest in October 2015 and was formally charged in 2023. She has consistently denied all allegations.
Two other defendants — her brother, Doye Agama, and Olatimbo Ayinde — are also standing trial on related bribery charges. Prosecutors told the court that all three had British addresses at the time the alleged offences were committed.
