A former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, has finished serving his imprisonment at Kuje Custodial Center in Abuja.
Lawan, who was jailed five years for receiving the sum of $500,000 bribe from business mogul, Femi Otedola in the 2012 oil subsidy scam completed his jail term on Tuesday.
The former lawmaker disclosed this in a statement he personally signed and made public on Tuesday.
He expressed happiness at leaving the confinement, saying his freedom makes a new beginning in his life.
While thanking Allah for his freedom, Lawan stated that “today marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life as I step out of Kuje Custodial Centre, with a heart full of gratitude to Allah SWT for seeing me through this trial.”
Expressing deeper gratitude to God, the ex-convict said he is alive, in good health and high spirits to be with his family, friends and associates.
He said he remains grateful and indebted to his family and friends who stood by him through what he considered as “trying phase of my life.”
Lawan, who was the Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Regime, was arraigned in 2013 after he allegedly demanded for a bribe of $3 million from billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, who accused him of receiving the sum of $500,000.
The bribe was said to help influence the removal of the name of his oil company from the list of indicted companies in the fuel subsidy scam of 2012.
Lawan has appealed the judgment and the panel held that the prosecution failed to prove that he demanded and agreed to accept the sum from Otedola, to exonerate his company from the list of indicted firms.
Lawan was convicted on the three count charges preferred against him by the federal government with a sentence of five years each for the first two counts, and seven years for the last count, all to run concurrently.
Meanwhile, a Federal Capital Territory High Court had sentenced him to seven years in prison but the Court of Appeal in Abuja reduced the jail term to five years.