Alison-Madueke Was Bribed With Luxury Homes and £2m Harrods Gifts

Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke is standing trial in the UK over allegations that she accepted bribes from oil industry figures in exchange for government contracts. This brought with it a funded, lavish lifestyle.

Prosecutors told a London court that she spent more than £2 million on luxury shopping, including at Harrods and high-end Mayfair retailers. Also, she stayed in multimillion-pound UK properties allegedly paid for and refurbished by business interests seeking contracts in Nigeria.

The court heard that Alison-Madueke received cash, luxury transport, domestic staff and access to private jets, while benefiting from property renovations worth about £4.6 million.

Witnesses described lengthy shopping sprees where she reportedly never paid for items and even remarked that she had run out of space for her purchases. Some of the goods were later recovered by the UK’s National Crime Agency.

Prosecutors further alleged that Alison-Madueke received £100,000 in cash, access to a private jet, a chauffeur-driven car. The services of domestic staff such as a housekeeper, nanny, gardener and window cleaner during her stays in the UK were also rendered.

Alison-Madueke, who oversaw Nigeria’s state oil companies while in office from 2010 to 2015, denies five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Co-accused include oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde and her brother, former archbishop Doye Agama, who also deny the charges.

Prosecutors allege that one businessman, Kolawole Aluko, funded much of the extravagant spending. The trial is ongoing.