The UK National Crime Agency had on Tuesday, August 22, said that Diezani Alison-Madueke, the former Minister of Petroleum Resources will make an appearance in court in the British capital on October 2, 2023 after being charged with bribery offences not unrelated to her time in office.
Recall that Alison-Madueke has been on bail since she was first arrested in London in October 2015.
Not long after her arrest, her family’s lawyer told news reporters that she would severely contest the corruption charges that have trailed her during and after her time in former president Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
Mrs. Allison-Madueke has been linked to a litany of money laundering, bribery and asset recovery cases in Nigeria, as well as in Italy and the United States of America.
Alison-Madueke, had been on office from 2010 to 2015, and was the first woman to be oil minister in the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as the first female president of the global oil cooperation, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC.
The head of NCA’s corruption unit, Andy Kelly had remarked that Alison-Madueke purportedly benefitted from not less than £100,000 ($127,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, private jet flights, luxury holidays for her family and the use of several London properties during her tenure.
The charges had also listed the various financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for her properties, payment of private school fees and gifts from top designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton purchases.
