Diezani Was ‘Rubber Stamp’ Minister, Lawyer Tells British Court

Counsel to former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has told a British court that she wielded no personal influence over the award of lucrative government contracts, describing her role as largely ceremonial and limited to endorsing official recommendations.

The defence lawyer made the submission on Thursday at London’s Southwark Crown Court, where Alison-Madueke is standing trial on multiple corruption-related charges.

Alison-Madueke, who served as petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 under former President Goodluck Jonathan, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

Prosecutors alleged that the former minister lived an opulent lifestyle in London, benefiting from luxury properties and expensive gifts provided by oil and gas industry figures seeking to influence the award of high-value contracts.

However, her lawyer, Jonathan Laidlaw, told the jury that transactions carried out on Alison-Madueke’s behalf were necessitated by Nigerian regulations prohibiting serving ministers from maintaining foreign bank accounts, according to Reuters.

Laidlaw further argued that Alison-Madueke disputed the prosecution’s claims regarding the scale of properties made available to her and the value of items she allegedly received. He maintained that any personal expenses incurred on her behalf were fully reimbursed.

Alison-Madueke, 65, who also served briefly as President of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is being tried alongside her brother, Doye Agama, 69, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery linked to his church.

Another co-defendant, Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, has also denied allegations of bribing Alison-Madueke between 2012 and 2014, as well as a separate charge of bribing a foreign public official.