UK court sets January 2026 for trial of Diezani Alison-Madueke over £100,000 cash, luxury goods bribes
The Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, has fixed January 19, 2026, for the trial of Nigeria’s former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The judge, Justice Thornton, during the arraignment on Friday, fixed the trial date for the former president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is expected to span for 12 weeks.
Mrs Alison-Madueke is accused of accepting bribes by using private jets, Chauffeur-driven luxury cars, expensive properties, purchase of luxury goods from Louis Vuitton and Harrods, £100,000 cash, and payment of school fees for her sons.
However, the former minister, alongside two others, Doye Agame and Olatimbo Ayinde, pleaded not guilty to an eight-count indictment bordering bribery and conspiracy to bribe levelled against them.
The judge, after fixing the trial date, ordered the prosecution to serve all their evidence in the case by June 2, 2026 and therefore granted bail to the three defendants on the same terms as before.
Mrs Alison-Madueke was first arrested on October 2, 2015, by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) in London, after which she was granted bail.
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