British police announced on Tuesday that they had accused Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former minister of petroleum resources, with bribery crimes. They claimed they suspected she had accepted bribes in exchange for approving multimillion-pound oil and gas contracts.
In the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Alison-Madueke, 63, played a significant role as the minister of petroleum resources from 2010 to 2015.
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Additionally, she presided over the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
“We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.
“These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation,” said Andy Kelly, Head of the National Crime Agency’s International Corruption Unit.
The NCA said Alison-Madueke was accused of benefitting from at least 100,000 pounds in cash, chauffeur driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
According to the NCA, the charges against her also include financial benefits such as furnishings, employees for property renovations, payment of private school tuition, and gifts from upscale luxury stores including Louis Vuitton products and Cartier jewels.
She currently resides in the affluent West London neighbourhood of St. John’s Wood, according to British police, and will make her court appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on October 2, 2023.
Since leaving office, Diezani has been the subject of investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. She has been accused of corruption, but she vigorously refutes the claims.
Alison-Madueke’s two Abuja homes and two high-end vehicles were finally forfeited to the federal government in October 2022, according to a decision by Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
