The prosecutor said Alison-Madueke frequently stayed in high-end properties provided by individuals seeking contracts with Nigerian state oil companies.
A British court heard that former Nigerian petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke accepted £100,000 in cash while in office, as her corruption trial opened in London.
Prosecutor Alexandra Healy told the Crown Court in Southwark that Alison-Madueke received cash and other benefits from industry figures seeking oil and gas contracts in Nigeria.
She said the former minister also accepted flights on private jets, chauffeur-driven cars and luxury goods from Louis Vuitton and Harrods.
Alison-Madueke, 65, is facing five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, relating to her tenure as Minister for Petroleum Resources from 2010 to 2015 under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The court heard she is accused of accepting “financial or other advantages” from individuals linked to the Atlantic Energy and SPOG Petrochemical groups between 2011 and 2015.
She appeared before Judge Michael Snow alongside oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde and her brother, 69-year-old Doye Agama, who are also facing charges. Alison-Madueke pleaded not guilty and was granted bail in October 2015.
Healy told the jury: “Bribery and corruption undermine the proper functioning of the global market,” highlighting the need to prevent corruption from spreading internationally.
The prosecutor said Alison-Madueke frequently stayed in high-end properties provided by individuals seeking contracts with Nigerian state oil companies and received luxury goods and property from those who believed she would use her influence to benefit them.
Healy said there was no evidence Alison-Madueke improperly awarded contracts but stated that accepting benefits from those involved in highly profitable oil and gas dealings with government entities was inappropriate given her position.
The prosecution also accused Ayinde of bribing Alison-Madueke between 2012 and 2014 and of bribing NNPC former managing director Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu in 2015.
Healy alleged that after Muhammadu Buhari replaced Jonathan as president in 2015, Ayinde paid a “substantial bribe” to Kachikwu to ensure Alison-Madueke remained employed at NNPC.
In 2023, the UK’s National Crime Agency formally charged Alison-Madueke, stating: “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.”