London — A London court has played recordings allegedly capturing former Nigerian petroleum resources minister Diezani Alison-Madueke confronting two oil businessmen she is accused of receiving bribes from, as her high-profile corruption trial continues.

Prosecutors at Southwark Crown Court claim the 65-year-old ex-minister was provided with a life of luxury in the United Kingdom, funded by businessmen seeking lucrative oil contracts from Nigeria’s government during her tenure between 2010 and 2015.

Recordings seized after 2015 arrest

The court heard that investigators seized a Samsung phone belonging to Alison-Madueke when she was arrested in London in 2015. Stored on the device were recordings from 2014 of two separate conversations, one with oil tycoon Olajide Omokore and another with businessman Kolawole Aluko.

Neither Omokore nor Aluko is currently on trial. However, prosecutors allege they paid bribes to the former minister while she oversaw Nigeria’s oil sector.

The conversations reportedly took place after Alison-Madueke believed both men were linked to claims that individuals close to them possessed information capable of “taking her down”.

In the first recording, dated April 2014, she told Omokore:

“We who are managing the thing have kept quiet… while people like your wife are busy singing all over the place.”

Raising her voice, she added:

“I do not react well to being blackmailed.”

“Escort all of you to jail”

In a second recording, made a month later, Aluko was searched before meeting the former minister. During the discussion, Alison-Madueke criticised what she described as his “lavish” public lifestyle, warning that it had drawn attention online.

She accused him of openly displaying relationships with high-profile figures, including British supermodel Naomi Campbell.

“Other men do these things, but they don’t parade them,” she said, cautioning that intelligence agencies could begin monitoring him.

She also reacted angrily to reports that he possessed damaging information about her.

“I will be happy to escort all of you to jail along with myself,” Alison-Madueke said in the recording.
“I will come out and tell the Nigerian people this is what happened… and then all of us go and sit on the gate. Let us see who survived, me or you.”

Aluko responded that he had never mentioned her name and had placed material in a safety deposit box containing “whatever I thought could save me… from jail”. He described himself as “loyal like a dog” despite having “a million flaws”.

Defence rejects allegations

Her defence counsel told the court Alison-Madueke neither requested nor received any financial benefit from the businessmen, noting they have not been charged in the proceedings nor extradited.

Also standing trial is oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who denies a count of bribery relating to Alison-Madueke and a separate charge of bribing a foreign public official.

Alison-Madueke’s brother, former bishop Doye Agama, 69, also denies conspiracy to commit bribery.

The trial is ongoing.