From: Godwin Tsa, Abuja
A witness in the trial of the then Chairman of the House Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel subsidy, Mr. Farouk Lawan, has denied receiving bribe from businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola in 2012.
The witness, Mr. Adams Jagaba, was a three-term member of the House of Representatives and was testifying as the fourth prosecution witness, before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Lugbe.
He further denied before Justice Angela Otaluka, other claims by Lawan that the sum of $620,000 from the bribe allegedly received from Otedola was reported and handed over to him with a covering letter by the ex-chairman of the House’s ad-hoc committee on petroleum subsidy.
Jagaba who is representing Kachia/Kagarko Federal Constituency of Kaduna State also said Lawan never visited him at about 3am on April 24, 2012 as claimed.
The federal government is prosecuting Lawan on three charges of corrupt collecting $500,000 out of the $3m bribe he allegedly requested from Otedola.
Lawan was accused of accepting the bribe in exchange for the removal of Otedola’s company’s name, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, from the list of firms indicted by the House committee for allegedly abusing the fuel subsidy regime in 2012.