Farouk Lawan, a former Nigerian lawmaker, has regained his freedom after serving a five-year jail term at Kuje Custodial Centre.
Adamu Duza, spokesman for the Federal Capital Territory Command of the Nigeria Correctional Service, confirmed Lawan’s release, stating, “Yes, he has been released having served his sentence”.
Lawan’s conviction stemmed from accepting a $500,000 bribe from Femi Otedola, chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd., during a legislative probe into the fuel subsidy regime in 2012.
He was initially sentenced to seven years but the Court of Appeal reduced his sentence to five years in February 2022.
The bribery scandal involved Lawan demanding $3 million from Otedola to exclude Zenon Oil and Gas from a list of firms indicted for subsidy fraud.
Upon release, Lawan expressed gratitude in a press statement: “Alhamdulillah… Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life as I step out of Kuje Custodial Center, with a heart full of gratitude to Allah SWT for seeing me through this trial”.
