Energy firms paid Diezani’s domestic staff salaries for NNPC contracts, UK court hears

More allegations have emerged against Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former minister of petroleum resources, who is standing trial in London over bribery claims.

British prosecutors told the court that founders of energy companies with lucrative contracts from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited paid the running costs of Alison-Madueke’s property in the United Kingdom. They also allegedly covered the salaries of her domestic staff, including a housekeeper, nanny, gardener, and window cleaner.

Alison-Madueke is facing a five-count charge bordering on the acceptance of bribes, said to include luxury goods and access to high-end properties owned by industry figures.

Prosecutors further alleged that the former minister had an expensive taste in fashion. The court heard that she had a personal shopper at Harrods and used payment cards belonging to Kolawole Aluko and the debit card of his company, Tenka Limited.

Aluko, a petroleum and aviation businessman, was named in the Panama Papers as part of a network of Nigerian oil executives, state governors, cabinet ministers, military officials, and traditional rulers. He was previously reported to have been investigated for allegedly helping to move millions of dollars out of Nigeria as kickbacks to Alison-Madueke.

According to prosecutors, access to a personal shopper at Harrods is reserved for customers who spend more than £10,000 annually. Alison-Madueke was said to have spent over £2 million at the luxury department store on Brompton Road in London.

Also listed as defendants in the case are Olatimbo Ayinde, an oil executive, and Doye Agama, Alison-Madueke’s brother. All defendants have pleaded not guilty.