Due to technical and legal issues, Diezani Alison-Madueke’s trial in London’s corruption case began on Monday, according to lawyers.
Also read: Ex-Minister Diezani Reappears In London Court for “£100, 000 Bribery” Trial.
The 65-year-old, who became the first woman to lead OPEC between 2010 and 2015, when Goodluck Jonathan was the country’s president, is accused of accepting five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiring to commit bribery.
According to lawyers, the trial may not begin until Tuesday because both the prosecution and defense teams need to come to terms with specific evidence that may or may not be examined during the proceedings and decide who the jurors will be.
Between 2011 and 2015, Alison-Madueke is accused of accepting “financial or other advantages” from individuals connected to the SPOG Petrochemical and Atlantic Energy companies.
These included £100, 000 ($137, 000) in cash, staff costs at several London properties, furniture, chauffeur-driven cars, and a private jet flight to Nigeria.
Other allegations include receiving bribes, including school expenses for her son, Louis Vuitton and other high-end products from Harrods and other outlets.
According to the indictment, accepting these bribes constituted “improper performance” of her duties as oil minister.
Before the trial, which is scheduled to last 10 to 12 weeks, she made an appearance in a London court last week for preliminary proceedings, including jury selection and technical matters.
On bribery-related bribery-related charges, two others, Doye Agama and Olatimbo Ayinde, are also facing charges.
“Power Abuse”
Since her initial arrest in London in October 2015, Alison-Madueke has been on bail.
She has denied the accusations leveled at her.
According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), she was formally charged with accepting bribes in 2023.
Diezani Alison-Madueke allegedly misused her position in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for signing multi-million-pound deals, according to the NCA at the time.
The NCA, which targets organized crime and serious international crime, announced earlier in 2023 that it had provided evidence to US prosecutors allowing them to recover assets worth $53.1 million related to Alison-Madueke’s alleged corruption.
According to the US Department of Justice, the documents included a 65-meter (213-foot) superyacht, the Galactica Star, as well as expensive real estate in California and New York, as well as.
Alison-Madueke studied architecture in the oil city of Port Harcourt in 1960 before working for Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary. She was born to a wealthy family in Port Harcourt.
She served three significant political positions, first as Minister of Mines and Steel Development and then as Minister of Mines and Steel Development in 2007.
In April 2010, Jonathan appointed her Minister of Petroleum Resources after Yar’Adua passed away.
She became the first woman to lead OPEC in 2014, a position she held for about a year.
Source: Channels TV
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