•Says third-party payments ‘not unusual’
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has told a United Kingdom court that he approved the use of private jets by Diezani Alison-Madueke for some foreign trips during her tenure as petroleum minister.
Jonathan’s written statement was read on Tuesday at the Southwark Crown Court in London, where Alison-Madueke is standing trial, according to BBC.
In the statement, Jonathan said it was “not unusual for third parties to make payments on behalf of ministers on overseas duties.”
“Any properly incurred incidental or in-kind assistance from third parties would be recorded and reimbursed where applicable,” he added.
Alison-Madueke served as Minister of Petroleum Resources from 2010 to 2015 under Jonathan. She is facing trial alongside oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde and her brother, Doye Agama, on five counts bordering on accepting bribes. All three have pleaded not guilty.
In January, British prosecutors accused Alison-Madueke of receiving bribes in the form of luxury goods and access to high-end properties from industry players seeking oil contracts. Her lawyer, Jonathan Laidlaw, told the court she had no real influence over contract awards while in office.
Written statements by Nigerian businessman Igho Sanomi and Ghanaian businessman Kevin Okyere were also read in court on Tuesday. Both men denied bribing the former minister.
Okyere told National Crime Agency investigators in June 2016 that he paid £3,900 for items Alison-Madueke bought at London’s Peter Jones store in 2014 after she was short of funds at checkout. He said she later reimbursed him in cash at his Abuja office. Okyere, founder of Ghana’s Springfield Group, described bribery claims as “completely untrue.”
Sanomi, in a June 2017 statement to the NCA, said he bought items in London on Alison-Madueke’s behalf and was reimbursed. He insisted his companies “always won their contracts fairly bidding against other competitors” and that the former minister was not improperly involved in any allocation.
BBC reported that both men were absent from court and are alleged by prosecutors to be among industry insiders who bankrolled Alison-Madueke’s spending and luxury stays.