By Ayo Yusuf
A Westminster Magistrate Court in the United Kingdom on Monday granted Nigeria’s former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke a £70,000 bail while imposing other stringent conditions on her.
Mrs. Alison-Madueke who is standing trial for an alleged £100,000 bribe was granted bail by district judge Michael Snow.
Judge Snow who acceded to her bail request however imposed other terms on Mrs Alison-Madueke including an 11 pm to 6 am curfew, an electronic tag to be worn by her at all times and a £70,000 surety to be paid before she could leave the court building.
The former minister was charged to court in London on Monday for receiving bribes in the form of cash, luxury goods, flights on private jets and the use of high-end properties in Britain in return for awarding oil contracts.
Mrs. Alison-Madueke, who served as Nigeria’s minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015, during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan has been in London for the last eight years.
She only gave her name, date of birth, and address during her appearance at Westminster Magistrates Court.
Although she did not submit a formal plea, her attorney, Mark Bowen, indicated to the court that she would plead not guilty, according to Reuters.
Her next court appearance will be on October 30 at Southwark Crown Court, which handles serious criminal charges.
Recall that the UK’s National Crime Agency said it suspected Diezani had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.
The NCA stated on its website that Mrs. Diezani “is alleged to have benefited from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, private jet flights, luxury vacations for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.”
“Her charges also detail financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods.”
The NCA also gave evidence to the US Department of Justice in March 2023, allowing them to collect assets totaling USD 53.1 million related to Diezan’s suspected misconduct.
Andy Kelly, head of the NCA’s international corruption team, said the accusations are “a watershed moment in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.”
Bribery is a widespread form of corruption that facilitates serious criminality and can have disastrous effects for underdeveloped countries.
“We will continue to work with partners both here and abroad to combat the threat,” Kelly stated.
In October 2015, Diezani and four other persons were arrested in the UK over alleged bribery and money laundering offences.
A magistrate court in the UK granted Diezani bail but her passport was seized while she was asked to report at the Charing Cross police station.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alleged that the former minister stole $2.5 billion from the Nigerian government while she was a minister.
Mrs. Alison-Madueke, aged 63, who also served as president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was a key figure in the Nigerian government between 2010 and 2015.
The former minister, who has subsisting criminal summons issued against her by a Nigeria’s federal court in Abuja, was arrested in London in 2015, shortly after stepping down as minister.
Activities of Ms. Alison-Madueke’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which she chaired, were often cited by the Buhari government as part of the worst forms of corruption that took place during the Jonathan administration.
The former minister quickly became a subject of intense investigations and legal proceedings in Nigeria as soon as the new government settled down.
A court document revealed that the suspended chair of EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, who was appointed to head the team investigating Ms Alison-Madueke and her allies, once travelled to the United Kingdom to interrogate the former minister but could not gain access to her.
EFCC’s investigations culminated in the money laundering charges filed against her in 2018. The commission also targeted high-worth assets it believed she acquired with proceeds of crimes for forfeiture.
Activities of some officials of the agencies linked to her ministry were also the subject of corruption charges.
Some electoral officers have also been jailed for funds they allegedly received from NNPC on her watch to manipulate the results of the 2015 elections.
On different occasions, the Federal High Court in Abuja had issued a warrant of arrest against her as part of the process of bringing her to Nigeria to face charges.
The EFCC had often blamed the United Kingdom government for shielding her from trial.
