Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke is now waiting for a jury’s decision after jurors at Southwark Crown Court in London began considering their verdicts in her bribery trial.
The case centres on claims linked to her time as Nigeria’s minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015. Prosecutors told the court Alison-Madueke faces five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. She has denied all the charges.
The prosecution said the 65-year-old received benefits from people in the oil and gas sector who were seeking access to major contracts. They told the court she stayed in expensive properties in London and was taken on shopping trips paid for by business figures.
Her defence team told the jury she did not make those decisions alone and said her role was based on official recommendations.
When she gave evidence in court last month, Alison-Madueke said: “At no time did I ask, take, or seek a bribe or bribes of any sort.”
She is standing trial alongside oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde, who faces bribery charges linked to the case, and her brother, Doye Agama, who is accused of conspiracy to commit bribery linked to a church matter. Both men have denied the charges.
The trial began in January, and jurors have now retired to consider verdicts on the charges facing the three defendants.
Ademide Adebayo
