UK court adjourns hearing on Diezani’s case to 2025

The Southwark Crown Court in the UK has adjourned hearing on the suit involving Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former minister of petroleum resources, to November 2025.

Alison-Madueke has been on trial over an alleged £100,000 bribe.

She would have spent 10 years in the UK by her next trial date.

On October 2, Michael Snow, the district judge at the Westminster Magistrates Court in the UK , granted Alison-Madueke bail in the sum of £70,000 after deeming her “a flight risk”.

Snow had imposed strict conditions on Alison-Madueke before she was granted bail, including an 11 pm to 6 am curfew and an electronic tag to be worn at all times.

The former minister left Nigeria in 2015 shortly before Goodluck Jonathan handed over to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleged that Alison-Madueke stole $2.5 billion from Nigeria’s coffers as minister.

Last week, the EFCC said in a statement that Mobolaji Olajuwon, a judge of the federal high court in Abuja, had issued a final forfeiture order on the former minister’s $3 million homes and cars.

ARRESTED IN UK

In October 2015, Alison-Madueke and four other persons were arrested in the UK over alleged bribery and money laundering offences.

In August 2023, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said they suspected that Alison-Madueke had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.

In a statement published on its website, NCA said Alison-Madueke “is alleged to have benefitted from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties”.

In March this year, the NCA also provided evidence to the US department of justice that enabled them to recover assets totalling USD $53.1 million linked to Alison-Madueke’s alleged corruption.

Andy Kelly, head of the NCA’s international corruption unit (ICU), said the “charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation”.

“Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries. We will continue to work with partners here and overseas to tackle the threat,” Kelly added.