The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday reduced the jail term of former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, to five years. Lawan was the Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee responsible for probing the multi-million naira petrol subsidy fraud in 2012. He was accused of soliciting a bribe of $3 million from billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola to exclude Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited (Otedola’s former company) from the list of oil companies allegedly involved in the petrol subsidy fraud.
Lawan was convicted on June 22, 2021, by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on a three-count charge of bribe solicitation, agreeing to accept a bribe, and actually accepting a $500,000 bribe from Otedola.
The High Court of the FCT sentenced Lawan to seven years on count one; seven years on count two and five years on count three.
Lawan filed an appeal against it because he was dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court.
His conviction on counts one and two was quashed in a unanimous judgment on Thursday, by a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by the Court’s president, Justice Monica Dongban-Mansem.
The panel stated that the prosecution failed to prove both counts one and two regarding soliciting for a bribe and agreeing to accept a $3 million bribe from Otedola.
The Court of Appeal found that the prosecution could only prove count three relating to him accepting the bribe of $500,000.
The Court therefore discharged and acquitted Lawan on counts one and two but, however, convicted him on count three (on which he was sentenced to five years).