Diezani Used Brother’s Church To Conceal Bribes – UK Prosecutor

Judge Michael Snow of Southwark Crown Court was told on Wednesday that former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke used his brother’s church, the Apostolic Pastoral Congress, to conceal bribes disguised as charitable donations.

The prosecutor, Alexandra Healy, who made the allegations on the second day of trial, claimed that Alison-Madueke’s brother Doye Agama, a former archbishop, was part of a conspiracy to hide bribes disguised as charitable donations to his church in Manchester.

The 69-year-old former Minister, Agama and oil industry executive, Olatimbo Ayinde, is being prosecuted before the court on bribery charges.

Alison-Madueke was arraigned before the court on a five-count charge of accepting bribes and an additional count of conspiracy to commit bribery, relating to her tenure as Nigeria’s Minister for Petroleum Resources from 2010 to 2015, under the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

She was accused of accepting “financial or other advantages” from individuals linked to the Atlantic Energy and SPOG Petrochemical groups between 2011 and 2015.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Healy told the judge that there was an “overwhelming inference to be drawn” that a bribe had been hidden behind a charitable donation.

She alleged that, “A businessman offered £1.1mn to fund a property purchase for Agama’s church in Manchester, but the name of the donor had been given incorrectly when the vendors’ representatives queried the source of funds.

“It was significant that the name had been mistakenly listed, given the size of the planned donation. It happened by circuitous means that are indicative of wrongdoing,” the prosecutor told the court.

Healy also informed the judge that the former Opec president threatened to inform the authorities of all their alleged illegal activities after she learned of an apparent plot to “take her down.”

She claimed that Alison-Madueke had a heated encounter with one of the executives who allegedly bankrolled her luxury lifestyle in London when she was Nigeria’s oil minister.

“I will be happy to escort all of you to jail along with myself,” she is said to have told him as she confronted the businessman, expressing concerns that he was plotting against her.

The lawyer further claimed that wealthy Nigerians would accompany her on eye-catching shopping trips in central London, with one allegedly even running personal “errands” for her at Harrods.

Another oil executive paid for flights on private jets for Alison-Madueke to destinations including Vienna, Hamburg, and Doha, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars each, the prosecutor stated.

She showed jurors transcripts of recordings on Alison-Madueke’s mobile seized by investigators.

In one conversation in May 2014, she is alleged to have told a businessman that she had been “really annoyed … because of what I am learning … I’ve heard this, take her down.” “You’ll be shocked at what I will do,” the transcript continued.

“Because when it comes to that, I will come out and tell the Nigerian people this is what happened.”

The businessman is alleged to have replied: “I swear to my God, in the lives of my children, I never ever mentioned your name or any name.”

Healy also provided a breakdown on Wednesday of spending sprees she claims Alison-Madueke undertook in exclusive districts of London, allegedly funded by bribes.

She said, “On one visit to a Mayfair chinaware store, Healy said, Alison-Madueke made ‘an impression, as she had an entourage of about four to five people with her.

“Someone present “recalled her saying words to the effect of, ‘I don’t even know why I’m buying this, I haven’t got the room for it.’”

Healy further told the judge that on a visit to a rug concession in Harrods, the minister “looked extremely glamorous,” and her appearance created “excitement” on the shop floor as her group was “spending a lot of money.”

Jurors were also shown text messages that prosecutors claim show a tycoon completing “errands” for the then minister, including requests for skincare products and suitcases.

The then minister also used the pseudonym Sharon D when buying high-end decorative arts and furniture from a store in Marylebone, the lawyer claimed.

The trial continues today.

In 2023, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) formally charged Alison-Madueke, alleging she took bribes over four years from 2011 to 2015, during which she held considerable power in Nigeria’s oil industry.

NCA had claimed, “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.”