Supreme Court affirms Lawan’s five-year jail term for bribery

The Supreme Court has upheld the five years sentence handed to former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, by the Court of Appeal for bribery.

In 2021, Lawan was convicted and sentenced to prison for accepting $500,000 bribe from Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, Femi Otedola.

Lawan’s appeal requested to set aside the February 24, 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

The court sentenced him to five years and discharged him on two out of the three counts on the corruption charge brought against him by the Federal Government.

In the lead judgment read by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, the Supreme Court held that Lawan’s appeal was without merit and went on to dismiss it.

The five-member panel unanimously affirmed the 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeal which upheld Lawan’s sentencing to five years in respect of only count three on the three-count charge on which he was tried at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.