Farouk Lawan Demanded $500,000 Bribe, Otedola Tells Court

Bsinessman, Femi Otedola, on Wednesday, revealed that a former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, demanded a $500,000 bribe from him to remove his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited from the list of oil companies allegedly involved in fuel subsidy fraud.

At a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, Otedola said, Lawan removed his company from the list of indicted oil companies after he collected the money, reports The Cable.

He said $2.5 million was the balance he was expected to pay the former lawmaker. “I could not have put him under pressure because Zenon Oil was not involved in the theft of subsidy funds,” he told the court.

“If he did not demand (for money), why will he collect the $500,000 and was expecting $2.5 million. He did mention to me that the $3 million was going to be shared by himself and other officers of the house.

“I did not offer any $3 million. I was one of the biggest players in the business and I reported the matter when I found out about the scam.

“He did mention to me that several companies involved in the scam were paying and I reported to the DSS.”

Lawan is a former chairman of a House of Representatives committee probing the multi-billion naira fuel subsidy fraud.