By Ayo Yusuf
More than eight years after she left office in 2015, the former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke has been charged to a British court on bribery offenses.
Mrs Madueke who once headed the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, is being charged with corruption during her time as Nigeria’s oil minister, the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Tuesday.
According to reports, the UK police said they suspected Mrs. Madueke had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.
The 63-year-old ex-minister who served during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, from 2010 to 2015 has been on self exile since she left office.
Speaking about the charges, Andy Kelly, Head of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) International Corruption Unit, said, “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.
“These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.”
Alison-Madueke, 63, has been on bail since first being arrested in London in October 2015. She will appear in court in the British capital on October 2, the NCA said.
Soon after her arrest, her family’s lawyer told AFP she would strongly contest corruption allegations that have dogged her during and after her time in former President Goodluck Jonathan’s government.
Alison-Madueke, in office from 2010 to 2015, was the first woman to be oil minister in Nigeria and the first female president of the global oil cartel OPEC.
The NCA said Alison-Madueke was accused of benefitting from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
TheNewDipomat also learnt that the charges against Mrs Madueke contained 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.
