$620,000 bribery allegation: Pressure, intrigues stall prosecution

Posted by admin House, Legislature Monday, October 15th, 2012

THE last may not have been heard about the prosecution of the erstwhile fuel subsidy regime chairman, Farouk Lawan, over the $620,000 bribery allegation.

Impeccable police sources disclosed to the Nigerian Tribune that intrigues, power play and pressure are now mounting on the police to stop the prosecution of the embattled chairman of the former House of Representatives Committee on Education.

The source revealed that pressure is on the police to also prosecute oil mogul, Mr Femi Otedola, if the erstwile chairman is to be prosecuted at all.

It was gathered that the pressure group’s claim is that both the giver and the taker of the bribe are all culpable for the offence.

Also, the House of Representatives is of the belief that it was the presidency’s setup against the House to tarnish its image and reputation and this has been one of the areas of friction between the two arms of government.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that because of the recent development, the police are now in a fix on how to prosecute the case.

About three months ago, when the police concluded their investigations by interrogating all parties in the case, the file was forwarded to the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, for advice.

However, the office of the Attorney-General hired a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to prosecute the case, but instead, the private prosecutor insisted that there were some grey areas that needed further investigations.

Such an area, he claimed, was where the House Leader on Drugs, Narcotics, and Financial Crimes, Honourable Adams Jagada, claimed that as of 4.00 a.m. on the day the bribe was claimed, and which Lawan alleged he gave him the money for safe keeping, he was still in bed.

-Tribunewp_posts