Alison-Madueke denies bribery charges in UK trial

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dieziani Alison-Madueke, has denied bribery charges as her UK trial continues.

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Alison-Madueke is being accused by British prosecutors of enjoying a “life of luxury” from bribes taken when she was Nigeria’s oil minister.

The 65-year-old was in the dock at London’s Southwark Crown Court on the first day of her trial.

She is accused of multiple counts of bribery between 2011 and 2015, when she was Nigeria’s minister for petroleum resources under then-president Goodluck Jonathan.

During that time, those who were interested in “lucrative oil and gas contracts” with Nigeria’s state-owned petroleum corporation provided “significant financial or other advantages” to Alison-Madueke, prosecutors told the court.

As a minister, “she should not have accepted benefits from those who were doing, no doubt extremely lucrative, business in oil and gas with government owned entities,” the prosecution added.

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.