Supreme Court Affirms 5-Year Jail Term for Lawal over Bribery
The Supreme Court, on Friday, upheld the judgment that convicted and sentenced the former Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy probe, Mr. Farouk Lawan to five years in prison for bribery.
The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel, dismissed as lacking in merit, an appeal the former lawmaker, who has been in prison custody since 2021, filed to challenge his conviction.
Lawan had among other things, contended that he was not allowed to make a plea of allocutus (plea of leniency) by the trial court before it jailed him.
However, in it’s lead judgment that was prepared by Justice Inyang Okoro but read on Friday by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, the Supreme Court said it was ” crystal clear that failure of the trial court to call for allocution did not vitiate the sentence passed on the Appellant. ”
It will be recalled that a High Court of Federal Capital Territory sitting in Apo had on June 22, 2021 sentenced the former lawmaker to seven years in prison.
Trial Justice Angela Otaluka, found the four-term lawmaker for Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency of Kano, guilty of demanding an aggregate sum of $3m from Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, Chief Femi Otedola, to give his company a clean bill of health in the subsidy probe the House of Reps initiated on 2012.
The trial court held that the Defendant acted in breach of section 17(1)(a), section(1)(a)(b)(ii), and section 23(i) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Acts 2000, and committed an offence punishable under section 8(1) 17(1) and 23(3) of the same Act.
The Court said it was satisfied that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, successfully established a criminal case against the Defendant, even as it convicted him on all three-count charges that was preferred against him.
Whereas the Defendant was handed 7 years jail term on counts 1 and 2 of the charge, the court sentenced him to 5years on count 3.
Justice Otaluka held that the sentence would run concurrently.
