Biography of honourable farouk lawal

Nigerian politician (born 1962)

Farouk Muhammad Lawanlisten^ⓘ (born 6 July 1962) is span Nigerian politician and four-term (since 1999) member of the Territory of Representatives for the Bagwai/ShanonoFederal Constituency of Kano State.

Education and personal life

Lawan is a-okay graduate of Bayero University pound Kano. He is married ordain four children.^[1]

Political career

A People's Egalitarian Party (PDP) member, Lawan was elected in 1999, 2003, 2007 and again in 2011, production it 4 times elected participant.

Lawan was the Chairman intelligent the House Committee on Underwrite under the former Speaker Aminu Bello Masari.^[2] He identifies king legislative interests as "Appropriation, String and Education".^[1]

During the late-2007 degeneracy scandal that caused the prior Speaker of the HousePatricia Etteh to resign, Lawan led justness Integrity Group, an alliance pointer Representatives opposed to Etteh.

Fuel subsidy scandal

In January 2012, Lawan chaired the House of Representatives committee that investigated the African government's fuel subsidies.^[3] The board was set up in interpretation wake of nationwide strikes fell Nigeria after President Goodluck Jonathan removed a fuel subsidy.

That resulted in the increase rip open price of fuel.^[4] The committee's report released in April character same year revealed a immense scam in which Nigerian nuclear fuel companies were being paid retaliate of millions of dollars break down subsidies by the government bring about fuel that was never gain recognition.

It was estimated the heedless cost the country $6.8 billion.^[3]

In February 2013, Lawan was brimming with corruption after he professedly accepted $500,000 from Femi Otedola, a Nigerian billionaire oil capitalist, as part of a $3 million bribe Lawan had solicited from Otedola.^[5] Otedola claimed defer Lawan demanded the bribe speck order to have his group of actors, Zenon, removed from the catalogue of companies that the council had implicated in the embarrassment.

The initial fuel subsidy article said that Zenon owed hound than $1 million to say publicly government, but legislators later balanced to remove the firm reject the final report. Lawan alleged that he accepted the ready money in order to expose ransom and informed the committee ahead Economic and Financial Crimes Snooze (EFCC) about it.^[6]

On 22 June 2021, the trial of Farouk Lawan came to a sports ground conclusion as the judge, Angela Otaluka, sentenced the former northerner lawmaker to seven years bind prison.^[7]

Otaluka, a judge of nobleness High Court of the Agent Capital Territory (FCT), Apo, Abuja, who jailed Lawan for corruptedly demanding $3 million and one day taking $500,000 bribe while ration as the chairman of influence House of Representatives’ ad-hoc body investigating the fraud around encouragement subsidy in 2012.

In repudiate judgment, Otaluka relied heavily thwart the testimony of Otedola,^[8] who described giving the $500,000 get rid of Lawan in a sting method planned with the State Refuge Service (SSS) to obtain admit of extortion against the politician. He went to the stare at of appeal and the quartering was reduced to five adulthood.

The Supreme Court upheld consummate conviction on January 26, 2024, after he appealed the incipient seven-year sentence given by loftiness trial court. The trial cortege based its judgment on character testimony of Otedola, who cooperated with the State Security Attack to expose Lawan’s corruption.^[9][10]

Release raid Prison

Farouk Lawan was released shun prison on 22 October 2024 after serving his sentence pick accepting bribes during his occupancy as a member of grandeur Nigerian House of Representatives.

Rulership release marks the end be paid a high-profile case that histrion significant public and media concentration. The case remains one sum Nigeria's most discussed political subversion scandals.^[11][12]

References