Bribery trial: Alison-Madueke tells UK Court she had limited control over oil contracts

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has told the Southwark Crown Court that she exercised limited control over oil contract approvals during her tenure, insisting that most decisions were concluded before they reached her desk.

Testifying in her ongoing trial, the former minister said contract processes in Nigeria’s petroleum sector passed through several agencies and layers of review before being forwarded to the minister for endorsement.

According to her, operational authority within the industry largely rested with the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), while the ministry primarily played an oversight role.

Alison-Madueke described the size and complexity of the petroleum industry as making direct ministerial control impractical, portraying herself as largely a “rubber stamp” in the approval chain. She told the court that she rarely rejected contract recommendations and did not interfere with decisions that had already gone through established institutional procedures.

The former minister also recounted how, in 2014, she discovered what she described as an alleged crude oil lifting arrangement involving multiple companies, which she said was linked to businessman Igho Sanomi. She told the court that she moved to cancel the arrangement after receiving a whistleblower report but encountered resistance.

According to her testimony, complaints over her decision were escalated to then-President Goodluck Jonathan, reflecting what she described as the political sensitivity of oil allocations.

Alison-Madueke also addressed the widely publicised $20 billion oil revenue controversy raised in 2014 by Lamido Sanusi, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). She maintained that subsequent audits and legislative reviews clarified the matter.

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According to her, the disputed figures were connected to fuel subsidy payments and operational expenses rather than missing funds. She told the court that she had been unfairly portrayed in the media as being involved in financial misconduct.

The former minister said investigations during her tenure uncovered irregularities in fuel subsidy claims, including multiple submissions by marketers. She testified that she reported the findings to relevant authorities and introduced measures that reduced subsidy claims.

She further alleged that her actions in addressing these issues exposed her to security threats, including the abduction of family members.

Alison-Madueke also told the court that political and business figures exerted pressure on her office for favourable oil allocations, requests she said she declined.

Addressing questions about her personal finances, she stated that she used Nigerian-issued bank cards for transactions, including during official overseas trips, noting that public officials were not permitted to operate foreign bank accounts.

She said there were instances when her cards failed while abroad, requiring others to temporarily cover certain expenses.

The court was presented with records of her travels between 2011 and 2015, including passport details and official correspondence.

Alison-Madueke said she typically travelled with an entourage of about 30 staff members, comprising technical advisers and protocol officers, and insisted that all official movements were properly documented in ministry diaries and archived by government authorities.

She also clarified that both commercial and chartered flights were used for official engagements.

Alison-Madueke is standing trial alongside Olatimbo Ayinde, an oil executive, and Doye Agama, her brother, on a five-count charge bordering on accepting bribes. All three defendants have pleaded not guilty.