Ex-lawmaker, Farouk Lawan, out of prison after completing five-year sentence
By Jeffrey Agbo
A former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, has regained freedom from the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja after serving a five-year jail term.
He revealed this in a statement on Tuesday, saying he was grateful to all who stood by him.
“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.
“My gratitude is deep, I’m alive and in good health and high spirits to be with my family, friends and associates. I don’t 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,” the statement read.
Lawan, who was the Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Regime, was arraigned in 2013 after he allegedly demanded for a bribe of $3million from billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, who accused him of receiving the sum of $500,000.
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The bribe was said to help influence the removal of the name of his oil firm from the list of indicted companies in the fuel subsidy scam of 2012.
On an appeal by Lawan, the panel held that the prosecution failed to prove that he demanded and agreed to accept the sum from Otedola, to exonerate his company from the list of indicted firms.
Lawan was convicted on the three charges preferred against him by the federal government with a sentence of five years each for the first two counts, and seven years for the last count, all to run concurrently.
A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court had sentenced him to seven years in prison but the Court of Appeal in Abuja reduced the jail term to five years.
On January 26, the Supreme Court upheld the Appeal Court’s ruling.