A STATEMENT by former President Goodluck Jonathan has been read before the Southwark Crown Court in the United Kingdom in the ongoing trial of Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
News Point Nigeria reports that Jonathan’s statement was presented during court proceedings on Wednesday.
In the statement, the former president told the court that it was not unusual for third parties to make payments on behalf of ministers travelling on official duties overseas.
Jonathan also disclosed that he approved Alison-Madueke’s use of private jets for some foreign trips during her tenure as minister.
“Any properly incurred incidental or in-kind assistance from third parties would be recorded and reimbursed where applicable,” the BBC quoted the former president as stating in the statement.
Alison-Madueke served as Minister of Petroleum Resources between 2010 and 2015 under Jonathan’s administration.
The former minister is standing trial alongside oil executive Olatimbo Ayinde and her brother, Doye Agama, on a five-count charge bordering on alleged bribery.
The defendants have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Earlier in January, British prosecutors accused Alison-Madueke of accepting bribes in the form of luxury goods and access to high-end properties from figures within the oil industry.
According to the prosecution, the former minister allegedly received luxury items and accommodation from individuals who believed she could use her office to influence the award of oil contracts in their favour.
However, Jonathan Laidlaw, counsel to Alison-Madueke, argued before the court that his client did not wield real influence over the award of oil contracts during her time as petroleum minister.
Meanwhile, Nigerian businessman Igho Sanomi and Ghanaian businessman Kevin Okyere have denied allegations that they paid bribes to Alison-Madueke.
Their statements to investigators in the United Kingdom were also read before the court on Tuesday.
According to the BBC, Sanomi and Okyere were alleged to be among industry insiders accused of financing Alison-Madueke’s luxury shopping and expensive stays in high-end properties.
Both men were absent when their statements were read in court.
BBC reported that Okyere, in a written statement submitted to investigators of the National Crime Agency (NCA) in June 2016, admitted paying for items purchased by Alison-Madueke at Peter Jones store in 2014.
The Ghanaian businessman explained that the former minister did not have enough money at the checkout point when he met her at the store.
According to him, the £3,900 spent on the items was later reimbursed by Alison-Madueke in cash at his office in Abuja.
Okyere denied allegations that the payment amounted to bribery, insisting that the claims were “completely untrue.”
He is the founder of Springfield Group, an oil company based in Ghana.
Sanomi also submitted a statement to the NCA in June 2017.
In the statement, the Nigerian businessman said he purchased items in London on behalf of the former petroleum minister but was later reimbursed.
Sanomi further maintained that his companies “always won their contracts fairly bidding against other competitors and that at no point was Mrs Alison Madueke or anyone else improperly involved in any allocation.”