A former Chairman of the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on Petroleum Subsidy, Farouk Lawan has been handed a seven-year prison sentence.
A High Court sitting in Abuja issued the verdict on Tuesday after Lawan was found guilty of count one, two, and three bordering on corruptly asking for and obtaining a bribe.
Lawan’s ad hoc committee was in 2012, probing the multi-billion naira fuel subsidy fraud, but was alleged to have used his position to demand bribe in the sum of $3m from Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola, in order to exonerate his company Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited from the list of companies involved in the fuel subsidy scam.
According to the ruling, for count one and two, the court sentenced him to seven years while for count three he was sentenced to five years. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The court also ordered that the defendant return the sum of $500,000 to the Federal Government.
