The corruption trial of former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources and ex-OPEC President, Diezani Alison-Madueke, took a dramatic turn on Monday as a former driver gave detailed testimony about an alleged pattern of luxury spending and cash movements involving prominent oil businessmen Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore.
Testifying before a London court, the witness, identified as Mr Sandro, said he worked as a driver for companies linked to Kola Aluko and regularly chauffeured Alison-Madueke and Aluko around London in high-end vehicles, including a Rolls-Royce.
According to Sandro, his duties often included driving the pair to luxury shopping destinations such as Harrods and Selfridges, where he would wait for hours before collecting shopping receipts. He said the receipts were usually delivered either to Alison-Madueke’s residence in St John’s Wood or to Aluko’s apartment at the exclusive One Hyde Park complex, reportedly valued at about £35 million.
The witness told the court that his role went beyond driving, claiming he was repeatedly instructed to collect large sums of cash from a branch of First Bank of Nigeria at Finsbury Square in London.
He alleged that the transactions typically involved envelopes containing between ÂŁ10,000 and ÂŁ15,000, which were handed to him by a bank cashier identified as Mr Tunji. Sandro said the money would later be divided inside the Rolls-Royce, with portions allegedly set aside for expenses and payments linked to Jide Omokore, Chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited.
According to his testimony, these cash collections occurred more than a dozen times, with the amounts increasing over time.
On one occasion, Sandro claimed he delivered £100,000 in cash to Alison-Madueke’s London residence, handing it over to a young man he knew as Abu. He described the package as unusually large and said it stood out among previous deliveries.
Sandro further testified that he once drove Alison-Madueke and Nigeria’s former President, Goodluck Jonathan, to a meeting in North West London where they met with Aluko. After the meeting, he said he dropped Aluko back at One Hyde Park.
He also told the court that he transported Alison-Madueke’s husband to the airport on several occasions and later noticed a strain in the relationship between the former minister and Aluko, though he said he avoided listening in on their private conversations.
The former driver also spoke about his working conditions, telling the court that he was sometimes underpaid or not paid at all. He said he was eventually owed about two and a half months’ salary.
His final interaction with Aluko, he said, was when he drove him to the airport shortly before Aluko abruptly left the United Kingdom.
While Alison-Madueke and Aluko remain central figures in the trial, observers noted that Olatimbo Bukola Ayinde, Chief Executive Officer of Dutchford Exploration and Production, who is also facing charges in the case, has maintained a low profile in court.
Alison-Madueke, Ayinde, and Alison-Madueke’s brother, Doye Agama, are all standing trial on bribery-related charges. All defendants have denied wrongdoing.
The jury is expected to determine whether Sandro’s testimony linking luxury shopping trips, repeated cash pickups, and alleged payments constitutes key evidence in one of the most high profile corruption cases involving Nigeria’s oil sector.
Kola Aluko, who has long been associated with international corruption investigations, has previously faced asset seizures and civil forfeiture actions in the United States and scrutiny in the United Kingdom and Nigeria over controversial oil deals linked to Atlantic Energy. Despite multiple investigations, he has not been criminally convicted, though his name continues to feature prominently in ongoing legal proceedings connected to Alison-Madueke’s trial.