Embattled former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke was on Tuesday afternoon, charged with bribery offences by the UK National Crime Agency (NCA).
Alison-Madueke, alleged to have accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on October 2, according to reports on the agency’s website.
Alison-Madueke has been on bail since first being arrested in London in October 2015.
She was in office from 2010 to 2015, she became the first woman to be oil minister in Nigeria and the first female president of the global oil cartel OPEC.
Alison-Madueke was a key figure in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The head of the NCA’s international corruption unit, Andy Kelly, said in a statement that she abused her power in Nigeria.
“We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts,” Andy Kelly, Head of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) International Corruption Unit, said. “These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation.”
The NCA said Alison-Madueke allegedly benefited from at least £100,000 ($127,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
The 63-year-old, who once acted as President of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), served as Nigeria’s petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015.