Farouk Lawan Arrested!

Reports reaching Naija campus watch have it that the Legislator in the middle of the 'Bribe for clearnace' scandal, Farouk Lawan, has been arrested by the police after failing to honour the police's invitation to state his own side of the story.

It would be recalled that Lawan ahd been cuaght red handed in a sting operation demanding for bribes from Femi Otedola the Chairman of Zenon Oil. The whole thing was caught on tape but when it was exposed Lawan denied ever receiving a bribe stating that the image on the tape was a "caricature". When Lawan could no longer deny his own image caught on tape, he admitted that he collected the bribe but meant to use it as evidence against Otedola. However, Lawan could not explain why he kept the bribe for 40 days without telling anyone.

Claims by Lawan that he informed the chairman of the House Committee on Narcotics and Financial Crimes of the attempt to bribe him via a letter have fallen flat as the Chairman of the House Committee on Narcotic Drugs and Financial Crimes, Hon. Jagaba, denied receiving any letter to that effect.

“I am not part of the Ad Hoc Committee on Monitoring the Fuel Subsidy and to the best of my knowledge, I did not receive any such letter of complaint about an attempt to bribe the subsidy committee. I am not aware of anything concerning that transaction (bribery) and my committee is not in possession of such a letter,” he told journalists in a telephone interview Monday.

Jagaba said that while he could not hold brief for Lawan, it would be important for Nigerians to look at the issue on its merit.

According to Jagaba, the subsidy report unveiled monumental corruption in the management of the subsidy scheme and should not be undermined because of the bribery allegation against the committee.

Sources had said that Lawan's refusal to appear before the police stemmed from the fact that he had spent the marked $620k given to him by Otedola and had been making frantic but unsuccessful efforts to retrieve the money knowing that tendering another $620k would amount to an admission that he had spent the original sum.