Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Monday appeared before the Southwark Crown Court in London for a preliminary hearing in her ongoing bribery trial.
The case was listed before Justice Thornton in Court 8, ahead of the commencement of the substantive trial scheduled for January 26, 2026.
Alison-Madueke is standing trial following charges filed against her by the United Kingdom authorities in August 2023 over an alleged £100,000 bribe.
The UK’s National Crime Agency had alleged that the former minister received bribes in exchange for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts while in office.
Alison-Madueke served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister between 2010 and 2015 under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan and was elected President of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2014.
In October 2023, she was granted bail in the sum of £70,000 after a Westminster Magistrates’ Court described her as a flight risk.
The court also imposed strict conditions, including an 11pm to 6am curfew, electronic monitoring and the provision of a £70,000 surety before her release.
Meanwhile, in January 2025, the Nigerian and United States governments signed an agreement for the return of $52.88m recovered from assets linked to Alison-Madueke.
US authorities had said the funds were traced to luxury properties in California and New York, as well as a 65-metre superyacht, allegedly acquired with proceeds from illicitly awarded contracts.
