Faruk Lawan leaves Kuje Custodial Centre.
After serving few years in prison for demanding and receiving a $500,000 bribe, a former member of the House of Representatives, Mallam Farouk Lawan, walked out of the Kuje Custodial Centre a free man on Tuesday.
Mallam Lawan who was before his conviction an influential member of the House of Representatives from inception in 1999 was sentenced to five years imprisonment for demanding and accepting a $500,000 bribe.
Lawan’s conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court on January 26, 2024.
He was found guilty of soliciting a $3 million bribe from Femi Otedola, a Nigerian billionaire oil tycoon while serving as chairman of the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating fuel subsidy fraud in 2012, a conviction that was upheld by the Supreme Court on January 26, 2024.
One of the aides of the former lawmaker who confirmed his release to Whitewaterdigest said “yes he has been released. He is at home at the moment. Alhamdulillah”.
In a statement he later issued, Mallam Faruk Lawan thanked Allah for his freedom, saying that “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life as I step out of Kuje Custodial Centre, with a heart full of gratitude to Allah SWT for seeing me through this trial.
“My gratitude is deep, I’m (sic) alive and in good health and high spirits to be with my family, friends and associates. I don’t take that for granted. I remain grateful and indebted to my family and friends who stood by me through this particularly trying phase of my life. May Allah (SWT) bless you” he wrote.
