President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday granted a presidential pardon to Farouk Lawan, a former House of Representatives member convicted of receiving a $3 million bribe, along with 174 others.
Farouk Lawan, who represented Kano State’s Bagwai/Shanono constituency, was embroiled in a high-profile corruption scandal in 2012. He was accused of soliciting a $3 million bribe from businessman Femi Otedola in exchange for removing Otedola’s company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, from a list of firms implicated in a petrol subsidy fraud probe.
Videos showing Lawan stuffing cash into his clothes circulated on social media, fueling public outrage. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) arraigned him on seven bribery counts.
In June 2021, an FCT High Court convicted him on three counts, sentencing him to seven years in prison. The sentence was later reduced to five years by the Court of Appeal, a ruling upheld by the Supreme Court in January 2024.
Lawan completed his five-year jail term in October 2024. The presidential pardon clears his legal and reputational barriers.
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