The former Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Regime, Farouk Lawan, has been released from the Kuje Custodial Center in Abuja, as announced in a statement he signed on Tuesday, October 22, 2024. Lawan, who was embroiled in a bribery scandal involving billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, had his initial seven-year sentence reduced to five years by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The case, which has been under judicial scrutiny since 2013, stemmed from allegations that Lawan demanded a $3 million bribe from Otedola. The bribe was purportedly intended to facilitate the removal of Otedola’s company from a list of firms indicted in the 2012 fuel subsidy scam.
Otedola accused Lawan of receiving $500,000 of the demanded amount. However, upon appeal, a panel concluded that the prosecution failed to substantiate that Lawan demanded and agreed to accept the bribe to clear Otedola’s company. Lawan was initially convicted on three counts, receiving sentences of five years each for the first two counts and seven years for the last.
Speaking after his release, he said, “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.”
