Former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, has been released from Kuje Prison after completing a five-year sentence for bribery. The spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, FCT Command, Samson Duza, confirmed Lawan’s release on Tuesday morning.
Lawan was convicted in 2021 for accepting a $500,000 bribe from a businessman to remove the businessman’s company from a list of firms involved in fuel subsidy fraud. In January, the Supreme Court upheld Lawan’s prison sentence, dismissing his appeal. The Court of Appeal had earlier affirmed his conviction on one count of the three-count charge against him in 2022.
Justice Tijjani Abubakar, delivering the lead judgment, ruled that Lawan’s appeal lacked merit.