Southwark Crown Court told that Diezani spent £2m on luxury items at London's Harrods

FORMER petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has been found to have spent over £2m on luxury items at London's iconic Harrods store while she was in office between 2010 and 2015.

Mrs Alison-Madueke, 65, who is standing trial on five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, appeared before the Southwark Crown Court yesterday, where the Harrods revelation was made. According to the prosecution, while in office, Mrs Alison-Madueke accepted bribes from industry figures interested in government contracts.

She is alleged to have been provided with a life of luxury in the United Kingdom, including the use of multimillion-pound properties, a chauffeur driven car, travel by private jet and £100,000 in cash. Other benefits she allegedly received included £4.6m spent on refurbishing properties in London and Buckinghamshire.

Jurors were told that over £2m was spent on behalf of the former minister at Harrods using the payment cards of Nigerian businessman Kolawole Aluko and the debit card of his company Tenka Limited. Mrs Alison-Madueke had her own personal shopper at the store, only available to Harrods Rewards Black Tier members who must spend over £10,000 a year, the court heard too.

Also, the court heard that when she stayed in the UK Mrs Alison-Madueke was provided with a housekeeper, nanny, gardener and a window cleaner. Their salaries and other running costs were paid for by the owners of energy companies who had lucrative contracts with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Prosecution counsel Alexandra Healy, said: "This case is about bribery in relation to the oil and gas industry in Nigeria during the period 2011 to 2015. During that time those who were interested in the award and retention of lucrative oil and gas contracts with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation or its subsidiaries the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company and the Pipelines Product Marketing Company, provided significant financial or other advantages to Alison-Madueke.

"It might seem strange to be dealing here in the UK with a case that concerns bribery in relation to the Nigerian oil and gas industry but we live in a global society. Bribery and corruption undermine the proper functioning of the global market and there is an important public interest in ensuring that conduct in our country does not further corruption in another country."

Jurors were also shown photographs inside a property called The Falls in Gerrard's Cross, Buckinghamshire, which was bought in 2010 by Nigerian businessman Olajide Omokore, owner of a company called Atlantic Energy. From late 2011, Mrs Alison-Madueke allegedly had exclusive use of the house which has a cinema room and she stayed there three or four times over two years.

In addition, the court heard that between May 2011 and January 2014, £500,000 was also paid in rent for two flats in a block in central London where Mrs Alison-Madueke and her mother lived. Records seized at the Tenka offices in Nigeria show the company settled the bill.

Mrs Alison-Madueke sat in the dock besides oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who is charged with one count of bribery relating to her and a separate count of bribery of a foreign public official. Mrs Alison-Madueke's brother, former archbishop Doye Agama, 69, is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and joined the trial by video link for medical reasons.