The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the conviction of Farouk Lawan, a former member of the house of representatives, over the $3 million bribery charge preferred against him by the federal government.
A five-member panel of the apex court in its judgement unanimously dismissed the appeal filed by Lawan and upheld the verdict of the court of appeal.
In the lead judgment by Justice John Okoro which was read by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, the supreme court held that Lawan’s appeal lacked merit and dismissed it.
Lawan’s appeal is seeking to set aside the February 24, 2021 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which sentenced him to a five-year jail term.
The Court of Appeal had, in its judgment, reduced Lawan’s initial maximum jail term from seven to five years.
Lawan was convicted by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on June 22, 2021, on a three-count charge of soliciting a bribe, agreeing to accept a bribe, and actually accepting a $500,000 bribe from Femi Otedola, chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd.
Video footage had made the rounds on social media at the time, of Lawan stuffing wads of currency notes in his outfit and underneath his cap.
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