Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former oil minister, told jurors on Monday she did not abuse her position to seek or take bribes, as she stands trial on corruption charges in London.
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 a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery.
“At no time did I ask, take, or seek a bribe or bribes of any sort, from any of these persons,” Alison-Madueke said, referring to people named in the charges, adding that she “always sought to act impartially” in her post.
Prosecutors say Alison-Madueke led a “life of luxury” in London, which included being given high-end properties to stay in and taken on luxury shopping sprees by people who “clearly believed she would use her influence to favor them.”
Alison-Madueke told jurors that the President knew of her using one of the properties, a high-end location in Gerrards Cross, west of London, for discreet meetings.
Alison-Madueke said that being a woman in such an important role made her a target, describing Nigeria as patriarchal and misogynistic, and that she was told she would be made a scapegoat of the administration.
She also said she organized accommodation at a central London apartment through a company owned by Nigerian businessman Kolawole Aluko because the financial structures of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC)’s London office were “in a mess,” and that all expenses were repaid in Nigeria.
Her trial is one of the most high-profile cases relating to alleged corruption in oil-rich Nigeria, which has long grappled with mismanagement and corruption preventing its mineral wealth from benefiting the wider population.