The former Nigeria’s minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has appeared before the Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, for a preliminary hearing in her bribery trial.
The matter was listed before Court 8 under Justice Thornton on Monday.
Alison-Madueke attended the session ahead of her full trial, which is scheduled to begin on January 26, 2026.
In August 2023, the former minister was charged by the UK government in connection with an alleged £100,000 bribe.
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said it suspects Diezani received bribes in exchange for awarding oil and gas contracts worth several millions of pounds while in office.
Alison-Madueke served as minister of petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015 during the Goodluck Jonathan administration. She also became president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2014.
In October 2023, she was granted bail in the sum of £70,000.
The Westminster magistrates court imposed additional bail conditions after describing her as “a flight risk”.
These conditions included an 11pm to 6am curfew, the wearing of an electronic monitoring tag at all times, and the payment of a £70,000 surety before leaving the court premises.
In January 2025, the Nigerian government and the United States signed an agreement for the return of $52.88 million recovered from the Galactica assets linked to Alison-Madueke.
The US government said Alison-Madueke and her associates acquired luxury properties in California and New York, as well as the Galactica Star, a 65-metre superyacht, using “proceeds of those illicitly awarded contracts”.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has also pursued assets linked to the former government official within Nigeria.