By JKNewsMedia Reporter
LAWYER TO Nigeria’s former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has said she had no real influence over the award of oil contracts during her tenure, as he told jurors at Southwark Crown Court in London.
Jonathan Laidlaw said on Thursday that Alison-Madueke was effectively a “rubber stamp” for official recommendations, signing off on contracts awarded by the federal government, JKNewsMedia.com reports.
Alison-Madueke served as minister of petroleum resources from 2010 to 2015 under then-president Goodluck Jonathan. She is facing trial on a five-count charge related to accepting bribes and has pleaded not guilty.
On Tuesday, British prosecutors told the court that the former minister received bribes in the form of luxury goods and access to high-end properties from industry figures.
Prosecutor Alexandra Healy told jurors that Alison-Madueke “enjoyed a life of luxury in London” provided by those interested in Nigerian oil contracts.
Laidlaw told the jury that Nigerian ministers are forbidden from holding bank accounts abroad and that purchases made on behalf of Alison-Madueke were repaid in Nigeria. Expenses for official business were reimbursed from government funds, he added.
He also asked jurors to consider 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 that what is regarded as extravagant in the UK may not be perceived the same way in Nigeria.
