$3m Scandal: Supreme backs High Court, says fmr lawmaker, Lawan deserves 5-yr imprisonment

Adebayo Adenrele



The Supreme Court has said the judgement passed by High Court on former member of the House of Representative, Farouk Lawan over $3m scandal was deserving.

The Supreme Court handed the inference today, upholding the judgement that convicted and sentenced Lawan, former Chairman of former House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on fuel subsidy probe.

NEWSTODAYNG recalled that Lawan, an active member of the former house, had been in prison since 2021.

For four terms, he represented Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency of Kano State, but was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations of bribery while in office.

The latest affirmation of his conviction came via a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, of the apex court.

The court therefore dismissed as lacking in merit, Lawan’s appeal seeking to challenge his conviction by a lower court.

A lead judgement of the Supreme Court, prepared by Justice Inyang Okoro but read on Friday by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, submitted that it was crystal clear that failure of the trial court to call for allocution, did not vitiate the sentence passed on the Appellant.

Lawan’s appeal was against a judgement of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Apo which had on June 22, 2021, sentenced him to seven years in prison.

Trial Justice Angela Otaluka, found him guilty of demanding an aggregate sum of $ 3million from Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, Chief Femi Otedola, to favour his company over the fuel subsidy probe the House of Reps initiated on 2012.

The trial court held that the Defendant acted in breach of section 17 (1) (a), section 8(1) (a) (b) (ii), and section 23 (i) of the Corrupt practices and other Related Offences Act, 2000, and committed an offence punishable under section 8 (1) 17 (1) and 23(3) of the same Act.

The court said it was satisfied that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), successfully established a criminal case against the Defendant, even as it convicted him on all the three-count charges that was preferred against him.

The court sentenced Lawan 7 years on counts 1 and 2 but 5 years in respect of count 3, and these were to run concurrently.