Kano lawmakers visit Farouk Lawan in Kuje Prison

BY OKEY NDIRIBE & EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

ABUJA—HOUSE of Representatives members from Kano State Tuesday paid a solidarity visit on their colleague, Farouk Lawan at the Kuje Prison.

The 24 members of the House of Representatives from Kano State are made up of 13 PDP, 8 ANPP,  2 CPC and one from ACN.

A source confirmed to Vanguard that they were on their way to Kuje to see Lawan.

Lawan is the oldest serving lawmaker from Kano. He was elected in 1999 and has since been re-elected three times.

Lawan, a  former chairman of the House ad hoc committee on the investigation of monitoring of fuel subsidy regime, as well as secretary of the committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo are standing trial for allegedly soliciting and accepting bribe.

The men were last Thursday remanded in Kuje Prison, on the orders of Justice M.N Oniyangi who held that they be kept until February 8, 2013, when their trial would be heard.

They were charged to court by the Attorney General of the Federation on a four-count charge under the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences, ICPC, Act.

It was alleged that they conspired to corruptly obtain $3 million from the chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas, Chief Femi Otedola, as inducement to remove the name of the company from the House Ad-Hoc Committee on Monitoring of Fuel Subsidy Regime’s Report, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 26 (1) © of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 and punishable under Section 8(1) of the same Act.

Emenalo too, was charged for failing to report the offer of inducement to other members of the committee to which he was a secretary and for demanding and collecting gratification of $120,000 from Otedola.

It will be recalled that Otedola has also filed a suit against Lawan and Speaker of the House, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal in a N250billion case of harassment and intimidation.