By Our Correspondent
A lawyer representing former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has told a UK court that she did not wield meaningful authority over the approval of oil and gas contracts during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Addressing the court at Southwark Crown Court in London, defence counsel Jonathan Laidlaw argued that Alison-Madueke’s role in the petroleum sector was largely procedural. He told jurors that decisions on oil contracts were made by civil servants and technical committees within the ministry, with the minister merely signing off on recommendations that had already been agreed through established bureaucratic processes.
The defence contended that Alison-Madueke neither selected companies for contracts nor influenced outcomes in exchange for personal benefits. Instead, Laidlaw described her as functioning within a rigid system where discretion was limited, insisting that the prosecution has exaggerated both her influence and control over Nigeria’s oil industry.
Alison-Madueke is facing several charges in the UK, including multiple counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Prosecutors allege that while in office between 2010 and 2015, she received luxury properties, expensive items, cash payments, and other benefits from individuals seeking access to lucrative oil and gas deals.
Her lawyer also rejected claims that she lived lavishly on illicit funds, arguing that some expenses attributed to her were either official in nature or paid on her behalf due to restrictions that prevented Nigerian ministers from holding foreign bank accounts at the time. He maintained that these arrangements should not be interpreted as evidence of corruption.
The trial has attracted significant attention both in Nigeria and abroad, given the central role of the oil sector in the country’s economy and longstanding concerns about governance and accountability.
The court is expected to hear weeks of testimony as it considers whether Alison-Madueke abused her position for personal gain or whether her role was limited to formally endorsing decisions made by others.
