Ex-Nigerian oil minister Alison-Madueke just a 'rubber stamp', lawyer tells UK trial

He also said Alison-Madueke, 65, disputes the extent to which properties ​were provided for her use and the amounts of goods she received, ⁠but that "all that was spent on her personally, in one way or another, was reimbursed". Alison-Madueke, who ⁠was also briefly president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is standing trial alongside her brother Doye Agama, 69, who has pleaded ⁠not guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery relating to his church.

Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke had no real influence ‌over the awarding of lucrative government contracts and was merely a "rubber stamp" for official recommendations, her lawyer said on ⁠Thursday at her London corruption trial.

Alison-Madueke, 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. Prosecutors say Alison-Madueke "enjoyed a life of ‍luxury" in London, with oil and gas industry figures having provided the use of high-end properties and given her lavish gifts to try and influence the awarding of lucrative contracts.

But her ⁠lawyer ‌Jonathan Laidlaw told ⁠jurors at London's Southwark Crown Court that purchases were made on Alison-Madueke's behalf "because Nigerian ministers are forbidden from ‍having bank accounts abroad". He also said Alison-Madueke, 65, disputes the extent to which properties ​were provided for her use and the amounts of goods she received, ⁠but that "all that was spent on her personally, in one way or another, was reimbursed".

Alison-Madueke, who ⁠was also briefly president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is standing trial alongside her brother Doye Agama, 69, who has pleaded ⁠not guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery relating to his church. Their co-defendant Olatimbo Ayinde, ⁠54, has pleaded ‌not guilty to one count of bribing Alison-Madueke between 2012 and 2014 and one count of bribery of a foreign ⁠public official.

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