Eddy Odivwri
Just when we thought the matter had been swept under the carpet, last Tuesday, the court finally ruled that Hon(?) Farouk Lawan, alias Mr Integrity is guilty of demanding bribe from a business mogul, Mr Femi Otedola. The amount involved is huge: $500,000!
Hon Lawan was a member of the House of Representatives. He had been in the House since 1992, the third republic. Somehow, his people in Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency, Kano, kept believing in him such that every four years, he is returned to the House. He was a profoundly experienced lawmaker. He was part of the system just as the system was part of him. They had mutual knowledge of each other. In fact, his political confidence level had been so built up that he was already planning to contest for the Kano governorship in the 2015 gubernatorial election. But the scandal zipped that ambition.
But for his petite stature, he was more than qualified to have led the House as a Speaker. But since he couldn’t be the King, he became a veritable kingmaker. Nobody became the Speaker of the House of Representatives since the dawn of the 4threpublic that did not pay special obeisance to Lawan. Even his tiny feminine voice was well respected and listened to. He was very often on the winning side. Having him on your side meant victory or supremacy. This niche probably got into his head and took the system and propriety for granted.
In 2012, there was a scandal about how importers of petroleum products were either inflating the figures of their importation or manipulating the process altogether by making false and bogus claims about imported products.
The House of Representatives decided to investigate the matter.
Farouk Lawan, with his supposed saintly credentials, was tipped to head the ad hoc committee set up to investigate the fraud associated with oil subsidy.
It was a vantage assignment. He got the names of all the companies accused of sharp practices. Based on that, he approached the owner of Zenon Oil and Gas, Mr Femi Otedola, and demanded the sum of $500,000 so the name of the company would be delisted from the list of accused companies. Although Otedola explained that his company was not involved in the sleaze, he decided to play along, on the prodding of the officials of the Department of State Service (DSS).
CCTV were mounted in Otedola’s home before the latter was invited. He was given the demanded sum (in marked notes), after a hard negotiation. It was more than a handful bunch. His pockets were filled. There were still some packs of unaccommodated wads. Left with no other space, he removed his Hausacap, upturned it and stuffed the remaining packs into it and merely mounted it on his head, and walked to his car. Mr Integrity did not know that CCTV was capturing all the ‘packaging’ panorama.
Before then, there were telephone conversations between Otedola and Lawan, where Lawan had offered to send his PA to meet Otedola to collect some of the deal. The fellow’s name and number were given.
Enough facts had been gathered to nail Lawan.
So when the story broke, it was unassailable. The first statement issued by Lawan had dismissed the social media report as “unfounded”. It was a tepid denial.
He soon after admitted that he went to Otedola’s residence but claimed it was for a different reason. He sounded clumsy and dubious. He later admitted to a few things, then toughened his stance and reinforced his denials.
Then he got arrested. He was soon granted bail and then the legal shenanigans began. He flexed his muscles and tried to “kill the matter”. For weeks and months, nothing would be heard again. I had written about the muteness of/on the case twice and he sent emissaries to me, asking why I was so interested in the case, with a subtle warning to back off. I did not. I did a third copy. But since then, the case went under; or so we thought. And some of us moaned that the case had suffered an infection of a legal virus.
So, it was such a pleasant surprise last Tuesday when the news broke that after eight full years, Justice Angela Otaluka ruled that Lawan was guilty of all three counts and sentenced him to a cumulative of 19 years imprisonment on all three counts but the sentence would run concurrently for seven years.
Indeed, the wheel of justice grinds slowly but surely.
The Judge maintained that the prosecution had proven the case beyond reasonable doubt. And I dare add that even beyond unreasonable doubt.
The video clip of the “cap banker” plus the audio recordings and the details thereof were all too compelling to be ignored or twisted.
Lawyers must however argue to earn a living and try to weave syllogism and foolishness into some unwholesome piece. Were it not so, Lawan’s lawyer would not be getting set to appeal the judgement. I wonder what his argument would be. Lawan did not deny receiving the money. So what is the ground for the $500,000 he received? Was he also a supplier of diesel? Does the business have to be transacted in United States Dollars, and in a private residence?
What does Lawan’s lawyer make of the audio recording? Was it a fluke?
On all sides and fronts Lawan was wholesomely guilty.
Not done, the judgement demanded that the $500,000 be refunded to the federal government. The DSS, it was, that might have given Mr Otedola the said sum as bait to implicate Mr Integrity.
Yes, it is bad enough that many Nigerians always want to take advantage of every situation to undo the state, but it must be said that the weakness of the structures of state also make it easy for crooks in government to cheat and ruin
Government. The Lawan case would not have happened if the nation’s refineries were all functioning and we would not have had the need to start importing petroleum products. Still, it is not to say that crooks will ever stop looking for ways of cheating the system and compromising propriety and order. It is even on the count of such compromise that the refineries are not working, in the first place. So wherever we turn, we appear jinxed and perpetually struggling to free the Nigerian construct from the hands of malevolent crooks.
And that brings me to the case of Hamisu Bala, popularly called Wadume, a notorious Taraba-based kidnapper. He was almost the northern equivalent of Mr Chukwudi Onuamadike, alias Evans.. Both fellows are tycoon kidnappers.
In the case of Wadume, after he had compromised so many police officers and soldiers within Taraba, a crack team of Police Intelligence Unit was sent from Abuja to arrest him. They succeeded.
On August 6, 2019, the set of policemen who had nabbed Wadume, handcuffed him, were intercepted at Ibi, Taraba State, on their way to Force Headquarters Abuja. The three policemen and two civilians in the car were shot dead by soldiers, even after the policemen have been identified. In the ensuing confusion, Wadume was whisked away. The handcuff was cut off and he was allowed to escape to Kano. Days later he was re-arrested.
Then the ‘government magic’ set in. The charges against the killer soldiers were not only dropped by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, the soldiers were not dismissed. They were merely transferred to another state. What’s more, till date, nobody is talking about Wadume anymore, two years after he had caused the death of many innocent people including the policemen and civilians he got the soldiers to kill. It is difficult to understand the legal lethargy on this matter.
Wadume may have protective godfathers today and thus delay the course of justice. But what is sure is that someday, a Pharaoh who knows no Joseph will come to power and the books will be opened. At that time, like it happened to Farouk, Wadume will get his due. It may not be too long from now.
