Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has denied allegations that she enjoyed luxury homes, expensive shopping trips, and lavish treatment in the UK in exchange for awarding government contracts.
Speaking at Southwark Crown Court, the 65-year-old said she had always tried to stand against corruption, even while working within a system where it has long been a challenge.
Prosecutors claim that several Nigerian businessmen funded extravagant expenses on her behalf — including over £2 million spent at Harrods and about £4.6 million on refurbishing properties in London and Buckinghamshire.
However, Alison-Madueke told the court a different story. She explained that any services arranged for her during official duties , such as accommodation, transport, and logistics, were not personal gifts but work-related expenses that were later reimbursed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC). She added that a London-based service company handled these arrangements due to internal financial inefficiencies at the time.
“I want to be clear,” she said. “At no point did I request or accept any bribe, nor did I misuse my office. I always tried to act fairly.”
According to the prosecution, she was given access to several high-end properties, including a grand home in Buckinghamshire, a £2.8 million residence in Marylebone, and other luxury apartments overlooking Regent’s Park along with renovations said to be worth millions.
Addressing specific incidents, she said a Christmas stay in 2011 at a Buckinghamshire home happened because her then-husband needed urgent medical care and couldn’t travel. She maintained she had no role in organizing that arrangement.
She also described another visit, where she and a group of officials spent two weeks working on a book highlighting the Nigerian president’s efforts to promote women.
Some properties, she explained, were used for private official meetings, while others were either under renovation or unsuitable for living at the time she saw them.
The court also heard that she and her mother once stayed in apartments in St John’s Wood, paid for by businessman Kolawole Aluko. Alison-Madueke said she had recommended this option as a cost-saving measure compared to staying in luxury hotels like the Savoy or Dorchester.
On another allegation, she denied any knowledge of £100,000 in cash reportedly delivered to her by a chauffeur, insisting the money had nothing to do with her.
Reflecting on her career, she spoke about rising through the ranks at Shell to become its first senior female executive in Nigeria — despite personal reservations linked to how the company had treated her father in the past.
She also expressed concern about environmental issues in the Niger Delta, saying she felt the company had not done enough to address the damage caused by oil spills in her home region.
Alison-Madueke further described the personal risks she faced in office, noting that being a woman in a highly patriarchal society made her a target. She said she lived under constant threat of kidnapping, and even members of her family had been taken.
In 2015, she made history as the first female president of OPEC.
She is currently facing five counts of bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, all of which she denies.
Also standing trial are oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde and her brother, Doye Agama, both of whom deny the charges against them.
The case is still ongoing.
Credit: BBC
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