Diezani Alison-Madueke Denies Bribery Charges as Defence Opens in London Trial

Nigeria’s former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has denied all bribery allegations as her defence opened at Southwark Crown Court in London.

The 65-year-old told jurors she “did not abuse” her office and “did not ask, seek or solicit bribes” during her time as oil minister. “I can state categorically that at no point did I ask for, take or receive a bribe of any sort from these persons and did not abuse my office. I always sought to act impartially,” she said, according to the BBC.

Prosecutors say several Nigerian businessmen funded years of luxury spending on her behalf, including more than £2 million at Harrods and £4.6 million on refurbishing properties in London and Buckinghamshire. Alison-Madueke told the court these expenses were incurred during official engagements and reimbursed by the state-owned NNPC. Her defence barrister, Jonathan Laidlaw KC, told the court that Nigerian ministers are “forbidden from having bank accounts abroad,” so others paid her bills and were paid back in Nigeria. “She did not request or receive any financial advantage from these individuals,” he said.

She also addressed claims that a chauffeur had delivered £100,000 in cash to her, saying she was unaware of the delivery at the time and that the money had nothing to do with her.

Alison-Madueke pushed back on the prosecution’s framing, telling the court she became “a target” after entering politics from outside Nigeria’s traditional political class and attempting reforms in the oil sector. She described Nigeria as “a very patriarchal and sadly misogynistic society,” saying her position as a female oil minister made her a security risk and that members of her family had been abducted. By the 2015 election, she said, she was told “to my face” that she would be made the scapegoat.

Her defence also argued that records at her Abuja home showing reimbursements no longer exist, putting her at a “real disadvantage.” Laidlaw told the jury that the businessmen named as having given the alleged bribes “have not been charged and there have been no attempts to extradite them.”

The trial, which began on January 26, 2026, follows more than a decade of delays, bail extensions, and a cancer treatment period that kept Alison-Madueke in London. She denies five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

Two co-defendants are also on trial: oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who denies one count of bribery and one of bribing a foreign public official, and her brother Doye Agama, 69, who denies conspiracy to commit bribery.

The trial is scheduled to conclude by April 24, 2026.

Sources: BBC News, Reuters, Punch, The Guardian Nigeria, ICIJ