Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Monday appeared before the Southwark Crown Court in London for a preliminary hearing in her ongoing bribery trial. The case was listed before Justice Thornton in Court 8, ahead of the commencement of full trial proceedings scheduled for January 26, 2026.
Alison-Madueke was charged in August 2023 by United Kingdom authorities over allegations that she accepted a £100,000 bribe. The UK’s National Crime Agency said it suspects the former minister received illicit payments in exchange for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts while she was in office.
The former oil minister served from 2010 to 2015 under the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. In 2014, she also made history as the first female president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).