The Supreme Court of Nigeria has affirmed the judgement of a lower court that sentenced former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, to five years imprisonment for receiving a bribe of $500,000 from businessman, Femi Otedola.
Lawan was tried for receiving $500,000 bribe during a legislative probe into the fuel subsidy regime in 2012.
SaharaReporters reported on February 24, 2022, that the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division affirmed the conviction of Farouk Lawan, over the $3 million bribery charges preferred against him by the federal government.
Lawan was the chairman of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee probing the multi-billion naira petrol subsidy fraud in 2012.
He was accused of demanding $3 million from Femi Otedola to remove Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited (Otedola’s former company) from the list of oil companies allegedly involved in the petrol subsidy fraud in 2012.
Lawan, who was arraigned on seven counts of bribery by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), was alleged to have collected a $500,000 bribe from Otedola.
The charge was later amended to three counts.
It also reported that Justice Angela Otaluka, of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, on June 21, 2021, convicted the accused on all three counts and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment.
However, delivering judgment in the appeal filed by the convict, the court discharged and acquitted the former lawmaker on two out of the three counts on which he was convicted.