Supreme Court Upholds Five-Year Sentence Of Ex-lawmaker, Farouk Lawan

The Supreme Court has upheld the five years sentence of former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan.

Honourable bagged a five-year jail term 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.

Justice Angela Otaluka of the Federal court, held that Lawan demanded $3 million and received $500,000 from Femi Otedola in 2012 to remove Otedola’s oil company, Zenon Oil and Gas, from the list of firms indicted for fraud in the fuel subsidy regime.

She also held that Lawan was guilty of all three counts of corruption and bribery.

However, Lawan approached the Court of Appeal, which reduced his jail term from seven to five years.

Lawan is at the apex court urging the court to set aside the judgments of the lower court.

Reading the lead judgment, Justice Tijani Abubakar upheld the decision of the appeal court and dismissed the appeal.