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By Lizzy Chirkpi
British prosecutors have told a London court that former Nigerian Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke allegedly spent more than £2 million at luxury department store Harrods, using funds linked to oil executives who benefited from lucrative Nigerian oil contracts.
The allegations were presented during hearings at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday and Thursday this week, as part of an ongoing bribery and corruption trial involving the former minister and several oil industry figures.
Prosecutors said Alison-Madueke allegedly enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle funded by associates in the oil sector, including high-end shopping, multi-million-pound UK properties, chauffeur-driven vehicles, private jet travel, and about £100,000 in cash.
Addressing the jury, lead prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC said the case centers on bribery within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector during Alison-Madueke’s time in office.
“This case is about bribery in relation to the oil and gas industry in Nigeria between 2011 and 2015,” Healy told the court, adding that those seeking or retaining oil contracts “provided significant financial and other advantages” to the former minister.
Alison-Madueke, who served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015 and previously became the first female president of OPEC, denies all five counts of bribery and one count of conspiracy.
Her defence team has argued that she had limited authority over oil contract awards, describing her role as largely administrative, and maintains that any personal expenses paid on her behalf were later reimbursed.
The trial, which began in late January, forms part of a broader international web of corruption investigations and asset recovery efforts linked to Alison-Madueke’s tenure in office and is expected to continue for several weeks.