Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke has been charged with bribery offences in the United Kingdom.
The British police disclosed this on Tuesday, saying that they suspected she had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.
Reuters quoted Andy Kelly, Head of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) International Corruption Unit, as saying that “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.”
He said the charges were a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.
According to the NCA, Alison-Madueke was accused of benefitting from at least 100,000 pounds in cash, chauffeur driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
The NCA added that charges against her also detailed 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.
British police said she was currently living in St John’s Wood, an upmarket area of west London, and would appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on October 2.
The Alarmee reports that Alison-Madueke was the first female president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). She was elected at the 166th OPEC Ordinary meeting in Vienna on 27 November 2014.
She became Nigeria’s minister of transportation on 26 July 2007. She was moved to Mines and Steel Development in 2008, and in April 2010 was appointed as the first female Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria.
