Diezani Alison-Madueke, the first woman president of OPEC and a former Nigerian oil minister, is on trial in London for alleged corruption.  (Photo credit: World Economic Forum)

By Gary Raynaldo     –   DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Diezani Alison-Madueke, the first female president of OPEC, is accused of accepting bribes when she served as Nigeria’s oil minister.  At the opening of her corruption trial in London this week, British prosecutors alleged  she accepted bribes from businessmen  seeking oil and gas contracts with Nigeria’s state-owned petroleum corporation. The alleged offenses took place between 2011 and 2015 when Alison-Madueke, 65,  was oil minister under Nigeria’s former president Goodluck Jonathan.  The former oil minister was initially charged in 2023 with five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. She has pleaded not guilty.  Alison-Madueke maintained a London address at the time of the alleged crimes, according to prosecutors.  According to the British daily The Times, some of the alleged bribes included shopping trips to Harrods, a chauffeur-driven car and private jet trips.  The Times reported that prosecutors told  the court  Alison-Madueke was given the use of seven properties including a £3.25 million mansion in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire; a flat overlooking Regent’s Park in central London; and two properties in a block in nearby St John’s Wood. 

“Diezani Alison-Madueke enjoyed a life of luxury in London funded by corruption while she was an oil minister in Nigeria, a court was told”     – The Times. 

The trial is taking place in London’s Southwark Crown Court.