London (AFP) – Lawyers for Diezani Alison-Madueke, the first woman president of OPEC, denied in a London court Thursday that the former Nigerian minister took bribes in their first formal response at her corruption trial. The 65-year-old, who sat in the dock at Southwark Crown Court taking notes on the third day of the trial, is accused of multiple bribery counts stemming from a years-long investigation. The alleged offences occurred between 2011 and 2015, when she was Nigeria’s oil minister but maintained a UK address. The UK National Crime Agency (NCA), which targets international and serious and organised crime, has accused her of receiving the bribes in Britain.
Prosecutors earlier this week claimed Alison-Madueke enjoyed a “life of luxury” funded by those who were interested in lucrative oil and gas contracts with Nigeria’s state-owned petroleum corporation. However, defence lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw told the jury Thursday that “a great deal of material which would have established her innocence, has been denied to her” during the “gross delay in the bringing of these charges”. “She has been denied the opportunity to travel back to her home in Nigeria to prepare her defence,” he told the 12 jurors, noting British police had retained her passport since she was first arrested 11 years ago. Laidlaw said that “Nigerian ministers are forbidden from having bank accounts abroad”. He added that papers at her home in Nigeria or kept by officials “would have demonstrated that where individuals provided her with accommodation in this country or paid for purchases… reimbursement was made from Nigeria”.
But the defence lawyer noted more than a decade later “those records have disappeared” and “the fact is that material critical to her defence is now no longer available to her”. Alison-Madueke is accused of accepting “financial or other advantages” from individuals linked to the Atlantic Energy and SPOG Petrochemical groups. Both companies secured contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or its subsidiaries, according to the prosecution. The former minister is also said to have received £100,000 ($137,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, a private jet flight to Nigeria and refurbishment work and staff costs at several London properties. Other counts allege she received school fees for her son, products from high-end shops such as London’s Harrods department store and Louis Vuitton, and further private jet flights.
President of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) between 2014 and 2015, Alison-Madueke has been involved in numerous legal cases around the world, including in the United States. She has been on bail in Britain since she was first arrested in October 2015. In 2023, she was formally charged with accepting bribes, which she has denied. Two others, Doye Agama — her brother — and Olatimbo Ayinde, are also being prosecuted on bribery charges linked to the case. All three defendants had a British address at the time of the alleged offences, according to the prosecution.
© 2024 AFP
