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A London court has heard explosive recordings of Nigeria’s former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, allegedly confronting two oil tycoons after their relationships soured, with the ex-minister threatening to “escort all of you to jail along with myself.”
The 65-year-old is on trial at Southwark Crown Court, facing five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Prosecutors allege she was provided with “a life of luxury” in the UK, funded by businessmen seeking lucrative oil contracts from the Nigerian government.
The conversations, recorded on Alison-Madueke’s Samsung phone in 2014, were seized by UK investigators when she was arrested in London in 2015.
Confrontation with Omokore
In an April 2014 recording, Alison-Madueke confronted Olajide Omokore, expressing frustration over claims being made by his wife. “We who are managing the thing have kept quiet. We’ve kept quiet… while people like your wife are busy singing all over the place,” she said.
Raising her voice, she added: “I do not react well to being blackmailed.”
Warning to Aluko Over ‘Lavish Lifestyle’
A second recording, made a month later, captured Alison-Madueke speaking with Kolawole Aluko. She expressed concern that his “lavish, lascivious lifestyle”—including relationships with figures like British supermodel Naomi Campbell—had drawn unwanted attention.
“As far as everybody’s concerned, you’re a playboy,” she told him. “Naomi Campbell, these are not the people for you to be parading… Other men do these things, but they don’t parade them. They do them quietly because the time for parading these things was not now.”
She warned that his behaviour could attract intelligence agencies, saying she had already advised him to be cautious.
‘I Will Escort You to Jail’
The former minister voiced anger over suggestions that Aluko had damaging information on her. “I will be happy to escort all of you to jail along with myself,” she said.
“You will be shocked what I will do because when it comes to that, I will come out and tell the Nigerian people this is what happened. I will blame myself… but I will come out openly and say it so they can judge me openly. And then all of us go and sit on the gate. Let us see who survived, me or you.”
On the recording, Aluko denied ever mentioning her name and claimed he had placed materials in a safety deposit box—”whatever I thought could save me, what could save me from jail.”
Defence and Co-Defendants
Neither Omokore nor Aluko is on trial, but prosecutors allege they paid bribes to Alison-Madueke during her tenure as Nigeria’s petroleum resources minister between 2010 and 2015.
Alison-Madueke’s defence has previously argued that she neither requested nor received any financial advantage from the men, noting they have not been charged or extradited.
Also standing trial are oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who denies bribery charges, and Alison-Madueke’s brother, former bishop Doye Agama, 69, who denies conspiracy to commit bribery.
The trial continues.
