For the first time in almost three-and-a-half years, former leader of the ‘Integrity Group’ in the House of Representatives, Hon. Farouk Lawan, has breathed the air of freedom, having finished his five-year jail term.
He was released from Kuje Correctional Cntre, near Abuja, Tuesday morning.
The former Rep member announced his freedom himself in a statement he personally issued, saying:
“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.”
Lawan was a four-term member of the House of Representatives, where he represented the Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency of Kano State between 1999 and 2015.
In January 2012, he chaired the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee that investigated the federal government’s fuel subsidy payments to petroleum marketers. The committee was set up in the wake the nationwide strike in Nigeria triggered by an attempt by the then President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to remove fuel subsidy. The situation resulted in a sharp spike in the pump price of petrol. The committee’s report, released in April 2012, flipped open a hefty can of worms, exposing huge scams in subsidy payments.
As erstwhile Chairman of the ad-hoc House Committee investigating the fraud, and in an apparent set-up, Lawan was caught on camera receiving a $500,000 bribe from billionaire oil magnate, Femi Otedola, Chairman, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, owner of one of the firms being investigated.
Lawan was subsequently arrested, tried and later found guilty on a three-count charge by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. On Tuesday, June 22, 2021, he was sentenced to five years in prison.
Not satisfied, Lawan headed to the Court of Appeal seeking a reversal of the judgement which he described as unjust. His appeal was thrown out for lacking in merit. Undeterred, he took his case to the Supreme Court.
But on Friday, January 26, 2024, a five-member panel of the apex court dismissed his appeal, effectively confirming his tenancy at the Kuje Custodial Centre.
In the lead judgment, prepared by Justice John Okoro but read by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, the apex court specifically affirmed the 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeal regarding count three of the charges. The Supreme Court held that Lawan’s conviction and the subsequent five-year jail term were justified.
Lawan’s conviction and imprisonment remains one of the strongest statements any government in Nigeria has ever made against the country’s thieving political elite.
Understandably, Farouk Lawan was elated and full of gratitude as he walked out of Kuje Custodial Centre, Tuesday morning, thanking the Almighty Allah for seeing him through that dark stage of his life.
Below is the full text of the statement Lawan issued shortly after his release:
PRESS STATEMENT
I Thank Almighty Allah – Hon Farouk Lawan
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.
