Diezani Had No Influence on Oil Contracts… She was A Rubber Stamp, Lawyer tells UK Court

Jonathan Laidlaw, counsel to Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s ex-minister of petroleum resources, says his client had no real influence on award of oil contracts during her stint in office.

Laidlaw told jurors at the Southwark crown court in London, United Kingdom, on Thursday, that Alison-Madueke was just a “rubber stamp” for official recommendation.

Alison-Madueke was minister of petroleum resources from 2010 to 2015 during the administration of then-president Goodluck Jonathan.

She is facing trial on a five-count charge bordering on accepting bribes. She pleaded not guilty.

On Tuesday, British prosecutors told the court that the former minister accepted bribes in the form of luxury goods and use of high-end properties from industry figures.

Alexandra Healy, a prosecutor, had told the jurors that Alison-Madueke “enjoyed a life of luxury in London”, which was provided by those interested in oil contracts in Nigeria.

THURSDAY’S PROCEEDINGS

According to Reuters, Alison-Madueke’s lawyer said his client’s role as minister meant she signed off on oil and gas contracts which were awarded by the federal government.

He told the jury to ask whether Alison-Madueke had “any ability to exercise influence upon who would be awarded these contracts or … was she effectively a rubber stamp, stamping the recommendations that her civil servants made”.

The lawyer said purchases were made on behalf of his client “because Nigerian ministers are forbidden from having bank accounts abroad”.

The counsel said personal expenses incurred during foreign trips were repaid by Alison-Madueke in Nigeria and expenses relating to official business were “reimbursed from government coffers”.

The lawyer told the jurors that what is considered extravagant in the UK may not be so perceived in Nigeria.