FAROUK LAWAN REGAINS FREEDOM

Former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, has been released from Kuje Prison after serving a five-year sentence for bribery.

His release on Tuesday morning was confirmed by the spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, FCT Command, Samson Duza.

“Lawan was released this morning after completing his jail term,” Duza revealed on Tuesday.

Lawan was convicted in 2021 for accepting a $500,000 bribe from businessman Femi Otedola, Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd.

The bribe was part of an attempt to remove Otedola’s company from a list of firms implicated in a fuel subsidy fraud.

In January, the Supreme Court upheld Lawan’s five-year prison sentence, dismissing his appeal.

The court’s decision followed a 2022 ruling by the Court of Appeal, which had affirmed his conviction on count three of the three-count charge against him.

The lead judgment, delivered by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, ruled that Lawan’s appeal was without merit.