- Safiu Kehinde
Former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been spotted leaving the London court ahead of her trial over alleged £100,000 bribery charges.
As captured in a video shared on X on Wednesday showed the ex-Minister stepping out of the Southwark Crown Court in the early hours of Wednesday.
NPO Reported that Alison-Madueke made her first appearance before the court last week for the preliminary hearing of her case which was considered for full trial.
The ex-minister is facing charges brought by the UK government over allegations that she accepted bribes while serving as Nigeria’s petroleum minister.
She was formally charged by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) formally which accused her of receiving at least £100,000 in illicit payments in exchange for the award of lucrative oil and gas contracts.
Investigators believe the alleged bribes were part of a wider scheme through which she enriched herself during her time in office.
Following her arrest in the UK, she was granted bail in October 2023 in the sum of £70,000.
Meanwhile, the ex-minister would on Monday appear before the court following the judiciary chamber’s decision to embark on a full trial over the case.
The trial was however stalled due to a technical failure that stalled the prosecution’s case.
According to reports, the disruption occurred in Court 4, before Justice Thornton after prosecutors informed the court that the absence of internet connectivity prevented them from delivering their opening statement as scheduled.
A court source confirmed that no substantive progress was made during the session, as the prosecution said its presentation would be deferred until the trial resumes on Tuesday.