The corruption trial of former Nigerian petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, in London was delayed on Monday due to legal and technical issues, according to lawyers involved in the case.
Alison-Madueke, 65, who once served as Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources and later became the first female president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is facing multiple bribery-related charges before a UK court.
The trial is now expected to commence on Tuesday, pending agreements between the prosecution and defence teams on the admissibility of certain evidence and the completion of jury selection.
Charges Linked to Tenure as Petroleum Minister
The former minister faces five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
The charges relate to her time in office between 2010 and 2015 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Prosecutors allege that Alison-Madueke accepted “financial or other advantages” from individuals connected to the Atlantic Energy and SPOG Petrochemical groups between 2011 and 2015.
According to the indictment, the alleged benefits included refurbishment work and staff costs at multiple London properties, furniture, chauffeur-driven vehicles, private jet flights to Nigeria, and £100,000 in cash.
Additional allegations include the payment of school fees for her son, receipt of luxury items from high-end retailers such as Harrods and Louis Vuitton, and further private jet travel.
Prosecutors contend that accepting these benefits amounted to the improper performance of her duties as Nigeria’s oil minister.
Trial Expected to Last Up to 12 Weeks
Alison-Madueke appeared in a London court last week for preliminary proceedings, which included technical matters and jury selection.
The full trial is expected to last between 10 and 12 weeks.
Two other defendants, Doye Agama and Olatimbo Ayinde, are also standing trial on bribery charges connected to the case.
The former minister has been on bail since her arrest in London in October 2015 and has consistently denied all charges against her.
NCA and Asset Recovery Actions
In 2023, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) formally charged Alison-Madueke with offences relating to bribery.
At the time, the agency said it suspected she abused her position in Nigeria by accepting financial rewards in exchange for awarding multi-million-pound oil contracts.
Earlier the same year, the NCA disclosed that it had shared evidence with United States prosecutors, enabling the recovery of assets worth approximately $53.1 million allegedly linked to the case.
The recovered assets reportedly included luxury real estate in California and New York, as well as a 65-metre superyacht, Galactica Star, according to the US Department of Justice.
Born in Port Harcourt in 1960, Alison-Madueke studied architecture in the United Kingdom and the United States before joining Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary.
She later entered politics, serving as Minister of Transport in 2007 under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and subsequently as Minister of Mines and Steel Development.
Following Yar’Adua’s death, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed her Minister of Petroleum Resources in April 2010.
In 2014, she became the first woman to serve as president of OPEC, a position she held for about one year.
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