The long-running corruption case involving Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former minister of petroleum resources and the first woman to serve as president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is scheduled to commence in London on Monday.
Alison-Madueke, 65, is facing five charges of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, all tied to her tenure as Nigeria’s oil minister between 2010 and 2015 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Prosecutors allege that between 2011 and 2015, Alison-Madueke accepted “financial or other advantages” from individuals connected to two energy companies. The alleged benefits reportedly included the use of several luxury properties in London, renovation works and staff expenses linked to those homes, furniture purchases, chauffeur-driven vehicles, a private jet flight to Nigeria, and £100,000 ($137,000) in cash.
Further allegations state that she received additional inducements, including the payment of her son’s school fees, luxury items from high-end retailers such as Harrods and Louis Vuitton, as well as more private jet flights.
According to the indictment, accepting these benefits amounted to “improper performance” of her official duties as Nigeria’s oil minister.
Alison-Madueke appeared before a London court last week for preliminary hearings, which covered procedural matters and jury selection, ahead of the main trial that is expected to last between 10 and 12 weeks.
Two other defendants, Doye Agama and Olatimbo Ayinde, are also standing trial on related bribery charges.
The former minister has been out on bail since her arrest in London in October 2015 and has consistently denied all allegations brought against her.
In 2023, the UK’s National Crime Agency formally charged her with bribery offences.
“We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts,” the agency said at the time.
Earlier that year, the NCA disclosed that it had supplied evidence to United States prosecutors, enabling the recovery of assets valued at $53.1 million allegedly linked to Alison-Madueke’s suspected corruption.
Those assets included luxury properties in California and New York, as well as a 65-metre (213-foot) superyacht, the Galactica Star, according to a March 27 announcement by the US Department of Justice.
Born in 1960 into a relatively affluent family in Port Harcourt, an oil-producing city in southern Nigeria, Alison-Madueke studied architecture in the United Kingdom and the United States before beginning her career with Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary.
Her political career saw her occupy three senior cabinet roles. She was first appointed minister of transport in 2007 under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, before later serving as minister of mines and steel development.
Following Yar’Adua’s death, Goodluck Jonathan appointed her minister of petroleum resources in April 2010. In 2014, she made history as the first woman to lead OPEC, a position she held for about a year.
What you should know
Diezani Alison-Madueke’s trial is one of the most prominent corruption cases involving a former Nigerian cabinet minister to be prosecuted abroad.
The charges centre on allegations that she used her powerful position as oil minister to receive luxury benefits in exchange for awarding lucrative energy contracts. UK and US authorities have pursued the case for years, leading to asset seizures worth tens of millions of dollars.
The outcome of the London trial could mark a major moment in international anti-corruption enforcement linked to Nigeria’s oil sector.
