$620,000 bribe: Lawan, Emenalo to face trial

By Yusuf Alli

Farouk Lawan

Farouk Lawan, the lawmaker in the centre of the cash-for-clearance scandal, is to face trial.
The former Chairman of the House of Representatives committee on Petrol Subsidy management allegedly collected a $620,000 bribe.
Sources said police investigation into the scandal has been concluded and the report of the Special Task Force (STF) will be sent to Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar and Attorney General of the Federation Mohammed Adoke this week.
The lawmaker admitted collecting the cash from businessman Femi Otedola to, according to him, prove that the oil magnate mounted pressure on him to take the money and remove his company from the list of those indicted in the subsidy fund probe.
But Otedola said it was all a sting operation he undertook with security operatives following pressure on him by Lawan.
Lawan might be arraigned alongside the former Clerk of the Committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo.
But the whereabouts of the cash remain unknwon. It may be resolved when Lawan is taken to court.
It was gathered that the STF, headed by CP Ali Amodu, concluded its investigation after last week’s grilling of the Chairman of the House Committee on Narcotics, Drugs and Financial Crimes, Mr. Adam Jagaba.
It was learnt that after Jagaba’s statement on oath and the consideration of other bends of the investigation, the STF established a prima facie case against Lawan and Emenalo.
The audio and video tapes of the alleged bribe offered by Otedola and the proceedings of the House of Representatives have also made the trial of the two suspects a fait accompli, it was learnt.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “We have concluded our investigation, we are compiling our report. The key thing in this assignment is that we have established a case against Lawan and Emenalo, we have recommended them for trial.
“Therefore, they will face trial any time from now. The report will be presented to Inspector-General of Police Abubakar and Attorney-General of the Federation, Adoke (SAN) this week.
“We took time to conduct this investigation to avoid any strain in the relationship between the House and the police. We succeeded in our operation, without any cold war.”
On the whereabouts of the bribe, the source said: “Lawan did not make it available but the court will resolve the matter when the trial begins.
“None of the respondents has given clues on where the bribe is. This does not substantially affect our investigation, going by the tapes at our disposal.
“I think the weight of the evidence available to the police is enough for the prosecution of the suspects.
“We have done a tidy job; we are aware of the expectations of Nigerians and we want to prove a point that we have cracked this case.”
Lawan appeared before the STF on June 14, following Otedola’s complaint.
Jagaba denied being in possession of the bribe.