FOLLOWING recent allegations of corrupt practices coming his way as former chairperson of a House of Representatives committee investigating the subsidy regime in the downstream oil sector of the economy, Representative Farouk M. Lawan said on Friday that he was prepared to face a trial over charges of improprieties on his part.
Mr. Farouk position is coming as the federal attorney-general and minister of justice of Nigeria, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke revealed recently that the federal government will soon file charges against indicted persons following investigations into the matter.
The lawmaker has been in the public spotlight since the bombshell allegation that he solicited and received bribe money from oil magnate Femi Otedola of Zenon Oil and Gas hit the airwaves.
Mr. Faouk initially denied that he received any bribe moneys before he later revealed that he indeed took possession of money from Mr. Otedola, but only as part of his committee’s investigations.
Otedola has however insisted that bribe money was solicited from him, and that he reported same to the authorities who later sought his help in investigating the matter.
Audio recordings of persons alleged to be Farouk Lawan and Femi Otedola have since emerged in public, where the persons speaking were heard negotiating the process of receiving moneys to influence the work of the committee in favor of Otedola, whose company was one of the companies originally indicted by Farouk’s committee.
Mr. Otedola insists that Mr. Farouk, who has since been relieved of his position as chairperson of the House committee on fuel subsidy review, received up to $620,000 in bribe money from him. The money itself, said to be marked notes courtesy of the agencies involved in the investigations, remains unreleased.
Last June, Mr. Farouk submitted himself for questioning with the police in Abuja after a threat of arrest was issued for his appearance. He was released after being detained for over 24 hours of interrogation. Mr. Otedola has given his statement with the police as well.