Farouk Lawan, ‘Mr Integrity’, convicted of bribery, freed from prison
A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Farouk Lawan, known as ‘Mr Integrity’ who was convicted of bribery, has completed his five-year jail term from prison and subsequently regained freedom on Tuesday.
Penpushing reports that Lawan, a veteran member of the House of Representatives, headed the ad hoc committee of the House that probed the multi-billion-naira fraud in the subsidy scheme during President Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2012.
The former federal lawmaker on Tuesday in a statement announced he had left Kuje Correctional Facility after completing his jail term, adding that he was in high spirits with his family and expressed gratitude to God
“Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life as I step out of Kuje Custodial Centre, with a heart full of gratitude to Allah SWT for seeing me through this trial’, he wrote.
“My gratitude is deep. I am alive, in good health, and in high spirits to be with my family, friends, and associates. I do not take that for granted. I remain grateful and indebted to my family and friends who stood by me through this particularly trying phase of my life. May Allah SWT bless you’, Lawan added
Penpushing further reports that it is recalled that the Lawan-led committee report on oil subsidy indicted Femi Otedola’s Zenon Oil and Gas Limited and many other firms, and specifically accused Otedola’s oil firm of fraudulently obtaining over $230 million foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to import petrol under the subsidy scheme, but failed to use it for the purpose.
The committee chairman, known as ‘Mr Integrity’ who represented Bagwai/Shannon Federal Constituency of Kano State in the lower chamber from 1999 to 2015, later removed Zenon Oil’s name from the list of indicted firms after receiving $500,000 from Otedola as the first tranche of the agreed $3 million bribe.
Penpushing also reports that it is recalled that Otedola explained that he reported to the State Security Service (SSS) the alleged move by Lawan to extort him through threats to indict his firms without justification.
The businessman emphasized that the State Security Service (SSS) told him to play along with the bribe seeking lawmaker, adding that the secret police organised a sting operation that got Lawan captured collecting the bribe from him in a video clip.
Penpushing reports that in defence, the embattled lawmaker insisted that he collected the money as evidence against Otedola, but admitted he did not report to any law enforcement agency, and was subsequently charged to court
The trial judge Justice Angela Otaluka of the FCT High Court Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja in her judgement delivered on June 22, 2021, convicted Lawan on all three charges filed by the Nigerian government.
Penpushing further reports that in February 2022 the court of appeal affirmed Lawan’s conviction after exonerating him of two out of the three counts he was earlier jailed for by the trial court, while the Supreme Court thereafter affirmed the conviction.
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