Sawt Falasteen - Ex-OPEC president's corruption trial sees start delayed

The 65-year-old faces five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, related to her time as Nigeria's Minister for Petroleum Resources between 2010 and 2015 when Goodluck Jonathan was Nigeria's president.

The trial may not begin until Tuesday, with both the prosecution and defence teams needing to agree on certain evidence that may or may not be examined during the proceedings -- and to finalise the selection of jurors -- lawyers said.

Alison-Madueke is accused of accepting "financial or other advantages" from individuals linked to the Atlantic Energy and SPOG Petrochemical groups between 2011 and 2015.

These included the use of, refurbishment work on and staff costs at several London properties, furniture, chauffeur-driven cars, a private jet flight to Nigeria and £100,000 ($137,000) in cash.

Other counts allege she received bribes, including school fees for her son, products from high-end shops such as Harrods and Louis Vuitton, and further private jet flights.

Accepting these bribes constituted "improper performance" of her duties as oil minister, the indictment said.

She appeared at a London court last week for preliminary proceedings, including technical matters and jury selection, ahead of the trial, which is expected to last 10 to 12 weeks.

Two others, Doye Agama and Olatimbo Ayinde, are also being prosecuted on bribery charges linked to the case.

- 'Abuse of power' -

Alison-Madueke has been on bail since she was first arrested in London in October 2015. She has denied the charges against her.

In 2023, she was formally charged with offences of accepting bribes, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

"We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts," the NCA said at the time.

Earlier in 2023, the NCA, which targets international and serious and organised crime, said it provided evidence to US prosecutors allowing them to recover assets totalling $53.1 million linked to Alison-Madueke's alleged corruption.

They included luxury real estate in California and New York, as well as a 65-metre (213-foot) superyacht, the Galactica Star, the US Department of Justice announced on March 27.

Born to a well-off family in the oil city of Port Harcourt in 1960, Alison-Madueke studied architecture in Britain and the United States before joining oil giant Shell's Nigerian subsidiary.

In politics, she held three major positions in government -- first as transport minister in 2007 under president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, then minister of mines and steel development.

When Jonathan took over after the death of Yar'Adua, he appointed her minister of petroleum resources in April 2010. In 2014, she became the first female president of OPEC, a role she held for around a year.

K.Hassan--SF-PST