Farouk Lawan: Ex-lawmaker jailed for demanding $300k bribe from Otedola regains freedom

Farouk Lawan, a former member of the House of Representatives, has regained freedom after serving a five-year jail term for asking for a bribe.

The former member of the Green Chamber was jailed for demanding a $300,000 bribe from Nigerian businessman, Femi Otedola, during the probing of the multi-billion naira subsidy fraud in 2012.

Lawan, who sat as the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Fuel Subsidy, was secretly recorded while soliciting for the said amount.

He became a national topic after Otedola released the footage, leading to his prosecution and eventual sentencing.

However, he was released from the Kuje Correctional facility in Abuja on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, after completing his term.

Lawan grateful for life after prison experience

Reacting after his release, Lawan expressed gratitude to God for keeping him alive and reuniting him with friends, family and associates in good health.

“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,” he said in a statement he signed.

The former lawmaker thanked friends and family for their support in a “particularly trying phase of my life”

“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,” he said.

“I remain grateful and indebted to my family and friends who stood by me through this particularly trying phase of my life,” he said.

Lawan jailed despite denial

In 2021, the Court of Appeal in Abuja sentenced the former lawmaker to five years in prison and discharged him on two out of the three counts on the corruption charges brought against him by the Federal Government.

Lawan was also ordered to refund $500.000 to the Federal Government but he appealed the verdict at the Supreme Court.

However, delivering judgment in the matter on January 2024, the apex court upheld the verdict of the lower court.

While giving the lead judgment which was prepared by Justice John Okoro but read by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, the Supreme Court dismissed the former lawmaker’s appeal for lacking merit.