The jury in the bribery trial of Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former oil minister, on Monday began their deliberations after nearly four months at London’s Southwark Crown Court.
Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015 under then-President Goodluck Jonathan, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Prosecutors allege Alison-Madueke, 65, led a “life of luxury” in London, being given high-end properties to stay in and taken on luxury shopping sprees by industry figures interested in lucrative oil and gas contracts.
But lawyers for the former minister, who was also briefly president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, argued Alison-Madueke was merely a “rubber stamp” for official recommendations.
“At no time did I ask, take, or seek a bribe or bribes of any sort,” Alison-Madueke told the jury when she gave evidence last month.
Alison-Madueke stood trial alongside oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who is charged with one count of bribery relating to Alison-Madueke and a separate count of bribery of a foreign public official.
Alison-Madueke’s brother, 69-year-old Doye Agama, is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery relating to Agama’s church. They both deny the charges.
After a trial which began in late January, the jury was sent out just before 1130 GMT on Monday to consider their verdicts on the eight charges the three defendants face.