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High profile corruption trial: How $500,000 bribe bait hooked Farouk Lawan

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The trial of politician and former House of Representatives member, Mr. Farouk Lawan resumed before Justice Angela Otaluka of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Lugbe, Abuja.

The Federal Government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), was prosecuting Lawan on a three-count amended charge of corrupt collection of $500,000 out of the $3 million bribe he allegedly requested from Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola..

The charge is marked: FCT/HC/CR/76/2013.

Lawan was the Chairman of the House of Reps ad hoc Committee that investigated the fuel subsidy fraud under President Goodluck Jonathan.

He was accused of accepting $500,000 as bribe to remove the name of Otedola’s firms – Zenon Petroleum and Gas and Synopsis Enterprises Limited, from the list of companies alleged to have defrauded the Federal Government of billions of naira by allegedly abusing the fuel subsidy regime in 2012.

Lawan was initially arraigned with the Secretary of his ad-hoc committee, Boniface Emenalo on a seven-count charge in which they were accused of accepting $620,000 from Otedola. The prosecution later reviewed the case, reduced the count to three, the money to $500,000 and removed Emenalo as a defendant who later featured as a prosecution witness.

Otedola, during cross examination explained how the said bribe was collected.

According to him, the defendant had indicted his company in the alleged fraud and demanded $3 million to exonerate him.

On Wednesday November 21, 2018, a prosecution witness, Femi Otedola, in the ongoing trial of the former member of the House of Representatives told an Abuja High Court that the defendant collected $500,000 as bribe to exonerate his company from the fuel subsidy fraud list.

The prosecution counsel, Chief Adegoyega Awomolo, (SAN), had called Otedola as his main witness.

The prosecution had earlier played a video where Lawan was seen receiving $500,000 from Otedola.

He added that after the initial deposit of $500,000 was paid into his account, Lawan declared Zenon Oil and Gas free of the initial indictment.

In a Tuesday, January 9, 2019, appearance before Justice Angela Otakula of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Otedola explained that the Department of State Service (DSS) gave him the sum of $500,000 to set up the former lawmaker.

He also explained that the money was given under the supervision of the DSS.

The defense counsel, Mike Ozekhome, questioned Otedola’s account saying Lawan ought to have been apprehended immediately he was caught.

The judge, however, adjourned the matter till March 8 to continue the cross-examination of the prosecution witness.

On resumption of the case on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, the Prosecution Counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), informed the court that Otedola, who was giving evidence for the prosecution, was not in court because he was sick.

After the matter was kept rolling for a while, on June 22, 2021, the Federal Capital Territory court sentenced Farouk Lawan, to seven years imprisonment for receiving the $500,000 bribe from Otedola.

Lawan was convicted by Justice Otaluka on the three-count charge he was prosecuted by the ICPC.

Justice Otaluka, after a trial that has lasted for some seven years, sentenced him to seven years imprisonment in respect of counts one and two and five years on count three.

Read also:

BREAKING: Court jails Farouk Lawan 7 years over $500k bribe scandal

[This Publication includes part of a compendium by Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) covering corruption cases as at 22nd of November, 2019.]

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