$3m subsidy bribe scandal: Farouk Lawan weeps

Detectives at the Police headquarters investigating the $620, 000 oil subsidy bribe money collected by erstwhile chairman of the House of Representatives Subsidy Probe Panel, Hon. Farouk Lawan from oil magnate, Mr. Femi Otedola, at the weekend disclosed to Vanguard that the decision of the Police not to stand in the way of the embattled Farouk travelling out of the country on religious grounds, followed his keeping to the terms of his bail conditions. 

 Aside reporting to the Police Special Task Force on two times daily basis, or whenever his presence was needed to shed more light on some issues, Farouk Lawan is said to have wept in one instance when it dawned on him that he had been abandoned by his colleagues to swim alone and was neck deep in the bribery allegation and that it will take close to a miracle to escape the consequences. When the issue of his travelling for pilgrimage ‘Umrah’ came up, the authorities studied his conduct and analyzed his willingness to cooperate with the bribery investigation. 

In most cases, all the addresses, information needed from him were provided and were found to be true; the only exception being that he regretted that his colleagues in the house, disappointed him when the $620, 000 which he claimed he kept in the house was not forthcoming. It was gathered however that a specific time frame within which the embattled former chairman would perform his religious obligation and return to the country, was agreed and signed, and failure to keep to the agreement would lead to ‘certain actions’, the source said.

newsmen was made to understand that up until when the investigation was concluded last week and the report submitted to the Attorney-General’s office for legal advice, Farouk had continued to insist that his colleagues would bring the money to him to hand over to the police. It would be recalled that Vanguard reported last weekend that authorities of the Special Task Force investigating the $620, 000 bribery scandal concluded the investigation, had written its final report and submitted the case file to the Attorney- General’s office. 

 Consequently, Hon. Farouk Lawan who has been in the eye of the storm over the bribery allegation, is set to face a 15 count charge of conspiracy, bribery, corruption, and lying under oath among others. However, contrary to the widely held belief that going by the provisions of the law, the giver and taker of bribe are liable to face criminal charges, Vanguard gathered that Chief Femi Otedola who gave the bribe might be a prosecution witness if the recommendations of the investigation report is approved by the Attorney-General. 

 While intimating Vanguard of a watertight case file owing to the fact that painstaking steps had been taken to plug any envisaged loophole in the report, sources disclosed that it will be difficult for the defence lawyers to arm-twist both Farouk Lawan and Boniface Emenalo the secretary of the committee from complicity in the allegation.

 Newsmen gathered that among new addition to the charges included in the case file, were attachments detailing how Farouk Lawan collected and concealed the bribe monies from both the House Committee on Subsidy probe and the ploy to deceive investigators that he handed over the money to the chairman of the Financial Crimes Committee for safe keeping. 

 Asked if the non recovery of the hard cash of $620, 000 would not stand in the way of nailing the culprits in the scam, a source said, the Police is very optimistic that even though the $620,000 was not returned to be used as exhibit, there is overwhelming evidence to get conviction for the duo.

 Recall that Hon. Lawan claimed in his statement to the Special Task Force (STF) that the $620,000 bribery money was handed over to the chairman House Committee on drugs and financial crimes, Adams Jagaba. Jagaba however rubbished the claim and challenged Lawan to prove how the money was given to him which he (Lawan) has so far failed to do.

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Femi Otedola Drags Farouk To Court For N250bn Damages

The $620,000 bribery scandal involving a federal legislator, Farouk Lawan and businessman, Femi Otedola, has entered a new phase with Otedola asking a court to order Lawan and three others to pay him N250bn in damages. Otedola's suit, however, coincides with petitions to the Inspector-General of Police by Lawan’s lawyers demanding a face-to-face confrontation between the lawmaker and the businessman. The amount, Otedola says, will compensate him for the loss of patronage he has suffered as a result of an alleged intimidation by the National Assembly. 

 Listed as defendants in the suit number FCT /3839/2012 and filed on June 28, 2012 at the Abuja High Court, are Lawan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; the National Assembly and its Clerk. There had been a raging scandal in which Otedola, who is the Chairman of Zenon Oil and Gas Limited, claimed that he paid $620,000 as bribe to Lawan, the suspended Chairman of the House Ad hoc Committee that probed the management of fuel subsidy regime in the country. 

 While Otedola said that he paid the bribe under pressure, Lawan claimed that he obtained the bribe in order to expose the businessman. The businessman’s company which had been removed from the list of subsidy thieves on the request of Lawan has, however, been re-listed by the House following the outbreak of the bribery scandal.

 Otedola, who is suing along with Zenon as the first plaintiff, said in his 28-paragraph statement of claim that the re-listing of Zenon on the list of indicted companies was an act of conspiracy. He claimed that the alleged conspiracy by both Tambuwal and the National Assembly was calculated to embarrass him and his company. 

 In his statement of claim, Otedola states, “Notwithstanding the on-going Police investigations and the first defendant’s admission of receiving money from the second plaintiff, the second and fourth defendants conspired to relist the name of the first plaintiff to the list of indicted companies, to embarrass the plaintiffs and their corporate and business image. 

 “The plaintiffs shall contend at trial that the conspiracy by the second and fourth defendants (Tambuwal and the National Assembly respectively) to re-list the name of the first plaintiff on the list of companies indicted by the ad-hoc committee is without basis given that the committee’s finding was arrived at without proper verification of documents submitted by the plaintiffs to aid their enquiry.”  

Otedola narrated how Lawan allegedly demanded $3m bribe in the course of the committee’s investigation and how he made several other intimidating calls that Zenon would be included on the list of indicted companies if he failed to comply. 

 He said the lawmaker did not relent in his demand for the bribe despite telling him that there was no basis for Zenon to be indicted by the committee. He added that he later took to the advice of some unnamed security agencies which asked him to play along with Lawan.

 He states further, “In the course of carrying out his assignment, the first defendant (Lawan) as head of the ad hoc committee set up by the second and third defendants contacted the second plaintiff (Otedola) and informed him that the first plaintiff ( Zenon) was going to be indicted by the ad hoc committee for purchasing foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria without importing petroleum products unless the plaintiff parted with a bribe of $3m.

 “The first defendant continued to make harassing phone calls to the second plaintiff calculated at intimidating the plaintiffs to meet the unlawful demand of the first defendant for bribe “The second plaintiff faced with the first defendant’s unrelenting barrage of intimidating calls became distressed and contacted the security agencies to report the first defendant’s conduct “The plaintiffs were advised by the security agencies to play along and hand over marked notes to the first defendant and his cohorts for the purpose of gathering evidence of their nefarious activities.” 

 In the purported sting operation, Otedola states that out of the $620,000 bribe, $500,000 was taken personally by Lawan on April 24, and that $120,000 was handed over to the clerk of the committee, Boniface Emenalo. 

 He also says that he would produce “all call logs and audio-visual records of conversation and/or meetings” held with Lawan to prove his case. He states, “On April 24, 2012, the sum of $500,00 was handed over to the first defendant by the second plaintiff. “At the request of the first defendant, a further sum of $120, 000 was handed over to Boniface Emenalo by the second defendant. 

 “On the morning of the April 24, 2012, the first defendant persisted in making intimidating phone calls to the plaintiffs harassing them to pay up the balance of $2.380m. “As a result of the distress caused to the plaintiffs by the first defendant’s persistent calls, the plaintiffs reported the matter to the police which invited the first defendant and the plaintiffs for investigations.” 

 Otedola, dissatisfied with the reappearance of Zenon on the list of indicted companies, has therefore made the claims against the defendants “jointly and severally”, “The sum of N100 billion against the defendants as general damages for the acts of intimidation; loss of goodwill and patronage, occasioned by the acts of the defendants; and a separate “sum of N150 billion against the defendants as exemplary damages for their oppressive and arbitrary action.”

 He states, “The action and conduct of the defendants were oppressive and arbitrary and thereby also resulting to the plaintiffs suffering substantial loss to their reputation, goodwill and business.” Hearing date has not been fixed for the case and it has not been assigned to any judge. In a reaction on Sunday, the House said that it was ready for Otedola and would assemble a legal team to meet him in court. However, it clarified that no court summons had been served on it as at Sunday. 

The Chairman, House Committee on Media, Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, noted that as a Nigerian, Otedola was free to express his views or take action on any issues he strongly disapproves of. “He is free to go to court; he is a Nigerian. We are ready for him and he will hear from us when we receive accourt summons. “However, as we speak, I am not aware of any court action taken against the House. This is weekend; but he will hear from us when we get the summons”, Mohammed added.

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MY COLLEAGUES BETRAYED ME –Farouk Lawan

The embattled erstwhile Chairman of the House probe committee on the fuel subsidy regime, Mr Farouk Lawan, yesterday, reported at the Force Headquarters in conformity with his bail conditions and insisted before the Police investigators that he handed over the $620, 000 bribe money to Adams Jagaba, House Committee Chairman on Narcotics and Financial Crimes. 

 Farouk, who came to the Force Headquarters at about noon, immediately walked into the office of the detectives, investigating the $620,000 bribery allegation, given to him by Zenon Oil Chairman, Mr Femi Otedola. Though details of his discussions with the Police were kept secret, Vanguard gathered from sources that Lawan also pleaded for more time to enable him return the money, regretting that his colleagues in the lower chamber particularly Jagaba disappointed him by denying that he received the money from him (Farouk). 

The source revealed that Lawan was optimistic that he would be able to retrieve the money and return it to the police. Regarding the non return of the $120,000 received by the secretary of the committee, Boniface Emenalo, the source said he told the Police that his $120,000 was handed over to his chairman, Lawan, immediately after collecting it from Otedola.

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3 Police Officers Arrested For Helping Farouk Lawan

 

 While Nigerians were made to believe that the embattled Chairman of the House of Reps Ad-hoc committee that investigated the fuel subsidy scam, Hon. Farouk Lawan spent Thursday and Fruday night in police custody, the controversy was the case.

 The Mr. Integrity, from what newsmen gathered, was busy committed another offence by flouting the rules of detention, in connivance with three serving police officers. Three policemen consisting of a superintendent and corporals have been detained for illegally taking Farouk to his residence in Apo, Abuja, at night and returned to custody very early in the morning on both days in violation of custodial rules and regulations. 

 The matter came to the open on Monday when investigators observed that the suspect did not spend Thursday and Friday nights in police custody. Olufamous.com gathered that the Commissioner in charge of the Special Task Force, Ali Ahmadu, who discovered the security breach, reported the incident to the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.

 The IG immediately ordered the detention of the policemen. “The three policemen are now in detention for flouting police rules on handling of suspects in detention and they are going to pay for it. The officers are saying that they acted on an instruction from a superior officer, who has disowned them.”

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FAROUK LAWAN: The unmaking of a tragic hero

Farouk Lawan, a man who donned the toga of integrity is brought to public spectacle in a sting operation centered around alleged $3 million bribe! WHEN former President Olusegun Obasanjo on May 22, 2012, said, ‘’today, rogues, armed robbers are in the state Houses of Assembly and the National Assembly,’’ both the ‘honourable and distinguished’ lawmakers, were perhaps the only Nigerians that reacted to the contrary.

 In unison the legislators rose to defend their integrity, which they claimed was being shredded by the ex-President. ‘’We actually feel that the former President would help the legislature and indeed also help Nigeria in the new spirit of transparency and openness by assisting the NASS by naming those that he knows in the NASS as either rogues or criminals. That would help us to be able to sanitise” senate spokesman Senator Enyinniya Abaribe said in his reaction. 

Hardly had the dust raised by the insinuation settled than the Farouk Lawan affair begin to unravel. Unlike, Obasanjo’s alarm which allegedly indicted the majority of the legislators, the present scandal revolves around one man – Lawan, who ironically has all this while donned the cap of integrity. Lawan it would be remembered was the chairman of the Integrity Group, a group of legislators that famously claimed to be purists during the Patricia Etteh affair.

 The alleged crime Lawan, it is alleged, had in his capacity as the Chairman of the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on fuel subsidy, demanded and received $620, 000, as part payment of a $3million bribe to exonerate Femi Otedola and his companies from indictment in the investigations into the subsidy scam perpetrated by oil importers. Otedola, claimed that Lawan, and the Secretary of the committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo, collected $620,000 from him in a sting operation masterminded by the security agencies. “When he (Lawan) demanded the bribe, I called the agencies. 

That is because I had nothing to hide. When the bribe was paid, why did he not call and report it to the agencies if he had nothing to,” the Zenon boss claimed. The surprise/confusion However, for a people, who before now believed in Lawan’s integrity exaltations having same man at the centre of this controversy, has remained a shocking development.

 Besides the public mood, this development has reportedly upset the leadership of the House, given that the man in the eye of the storm, had always been relied upon each time the integrity of the House is being questioned at the court of public opinion. Thirteen years of rise and rise Lawan it would be recalled won elections into the House of Representatives first in 1999.

 Whereas many have since fallen aside, Lawan has repeatedly won re-election and was before now, setting his sights on the Kano governorship. He first came into the consciousness of Nigerians during the 1999 leadership election in the House and subsequently as Chairman of the House Committee on Information in 2002 when he gave the House voice during the Obasanjo impeachment saga. 

 Though he was one of the advocates that brought Etteh to power, he quickly turned against her for some yet undisclosed reasons and marshaled the Integrity Group that forced her out of office in October 2007. “I was elected to protect the interest of the Nigerian people and that is what I have been doing and will continue to do. I have nothing against the Speaker, but I was elected to protect the interest of people of Nigeria and that is what the issue bothers on,” he said on his reasons for fighting Eteh.

 And the general anger Regardless of whatever credential he has claimed, the ensuing development has stirred general anger. Expressing his disgust, Publicity Secretary of Lagos State Chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria,ACN, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, described the development as unfortunate, adding that Lawan had been the hope of the generality of Nigerians. He said, “the situation portends a grave danger for democracy, because Farouk Lawan has been around for some time and we all looked up to him. The development has opened up a lot of can worms about the things going on in the National Assembly. 

What is happening is a reality of what Obasanjo said few weeks back. I can tell you that Obsanjo had background of what was on that was why he made that statement.” Still regretting that Lawan is at the centre of the controversy, Igbokwe, who is a leading voice of the opposition, said, “what is going on would have grave implications for the report on the fuel subsidy probe because, it is now a distraction for calls for the implementation of the report.’’ Not done, he suggested thus: “whatever that is happening now, 

the allegations against Farouk’s committee is a call for the EFCC and other relevant agencies to get serious and bring, whoever that is culpable to book, because whether Farouk had integrity before now does not matter, what we need is a proper investigation. Farouk is just one person, we should be looking at the big picture on the matter.’’ Don’t refer matter to ethics committee Similarly, the Director General of Centre for Democratic Governance in Africa, Dr. Dafe Akpocha, described the development as a sad one for the nation and the House, adding that a proper investigation should be done to clear contentious issues. 

 ‘’I wept from the bottom of my heart concerning Farouk Lawan, because he is one person among the legislators that the people respect so much. He is one of the people that Nigerians regard as different from the fold. We have been looking at him as among the few people, whose voices are respected among Nigerians,’’ he noted. “As far as he is concerned, ‘’having confessed that he accepted the money, he should be investigated and the truth unearthed. there should not be any hiding place for lawbreakers.

 I am highly disappointed that somebody that we are holding in high esteem is being accused of financial irresponsibility.” Continuing, Akpocha said, “a thorough investigation should be carried out. We should use somebody as a scapegoat in this country, for how long should we keep regarding some people as sacred cows?? The integrity of the house is now at stake because of this shocking revelation. And the House should not for any reason refer this matter to its committee on ethics. We want to know the bottom root of this matter.’’

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$620,000 bribe: Farouk Lawan finally in police net

Embattled Farouk Lawan, Chairman, House of Representatives’ fuel subsidy probe ad hoc committee, last night, reported himself to the police headquarters in Abuja.

According to the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, Lawan was being interrogated last night and could not say whether he will spend the night at the force headquarters, adding, “I don’t want to pre-empt investigation”.

Police were ready to declare Lawan wanted if he had not showed up yesterday.

Meanwhile, the presidency has denounced what it described as attempt by a section of the media to drag the person and office of the president into the on-going bribery scandal involving Farouk Lawan, Chairman of the House of Representatives’ fuel subsidy probe ad hoc committee and Femi Otedola, chairman of Zenon Oil.

In a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, the presidency said the attempt was not only “lame” but “diversionary”.

Abati, the presidential spokesman, stated that “the mischievous insinuation in today’s (Thursday) editions of the newspapers that the entire affair, in which the two key players have publicly confessed their roles, is part of a plot by President Goodluck Jonathan and the executive arm of government to unseat the leadership of the House of Representatives is totally false and baseless”.

The statement noted further that for the benefit of unwary members of the public who may be deceived by the political innuendoes now being woven into the subsidy probe bribe affair, President Jonathan wishes to affirm that he has absolutely no reason or desire to meddle in the affairs of the House of Representatives and its leadership.

“Neither the president nor anyone acting on his request or order has anything to do with the scandal that has sadly engulfed the House ad-hoc committee on fuel subsidy. The attempt to drag the presidency into the matter is entirely speculative and without factual foundation.

“Against the background of its avowed commitment to the effective prosecution of the war against corruption in Nigeria, the presidency notes with satisfaction, that given the seriousness of the scandal, the House of Representatives has already recalled its members from recess for a special session to deliberate on it tomorrow (friday).

“Recent developments notwithstanding, President Jonathan’s directive to the Attorney-General of the Federation on the report of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy, as adopted by the House of Representatives, subsists and he fully expects that all those indicted in the report will be duly investigated and prosecuted if a prima facie case is established against them”, Abati said.

However, as the House of Representatives reconvenes today to deliberate on the $3 million fuel subsidy scandal, there are strong indications that regional sentiments may play up in the course of debate.
The special plenary session is to be beamed live on major television stations where lawmakers are to express their opinions.

Todaysgist.com, however, gathered that some of the lawmakers are already lobbying to ensure safe landing for the embattled lawmaker and one of the principal officers linked with the bribery scandal.

Meanwhile, one of the lawmakers linked with the bribery scandal, Jerry Alagbaoso, has denied involvement in the $3 million scandal as implied in an online news wire, which described him as the front man for the chairman of the ad hoc committee (Farouk Lawan).

Alagbaoso in a statement stated that he was neither a member of the ad hoc committee on oil subsidy investigating nor a front man to its chairman cum any member(s) as awashed in the media.

The informal meetings, according to sources, were held at different locations including private houses and guest houses in order to keep their deliberations from the media and the public.

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