SAN FRANCISCO, August 05, (THEWILL) – The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, Tuesday, in a unanimous decision upheld the judgment of a high court which voided the no case submission entered by Hon. Farouk Lawan, a former member of House of Representative, in the alleged $3 million bribe case.
The appellate court dismissed the appeal filed by Lawan seeking to terminate the $3 million bribery suit preferred against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), which had arraigned him on a three-count criminal charge bordering on alleged bribe.
He allegedly demanded the sum of $3 million from Mr. Femi Otedola to remove his company’s name, Zenon Oil from the list of companies under investigation by the legislature for alleged subsidy fraud.
He was said to have received the sum of $500, 000 from Otedola as part-payment when he was Chairman of the House Committee on Oil and Gas in 2012 in a scandal which rocked the subsidy probe initiated by the regime of former president Goodluck Jonathan.
He had approached the Court of Appeal to set aside the decision of Justice Angela Otaluka of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which rejected his no-case submission in the bribery trial.
However, the appellate court in a unanimous decision held that a prima facie case was well established against him that would warrant him to enter his defence in the matter.
In the judgment delivered by Justice Olabisi Ige, the Court of Appeal held that the decision of the lower court was well founded.
According to Ige, contrary to the argument of Lawan, the prosecution’s evidence at the trial court was not in any way discredited, hence the rejection of his no-case submission.
THEWILL recalls that after the prosecution closed its case last year after calling five witnesses, Lawan, through his counsel, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), had filed a no-case submission on the grounds that the evidence and testimonies did not link Lawan to the crime.
ALSO READ: EFCC Re-arraigns Adoke, Abubakar
Ozekhome further submitted that if the Department of State Services (DSS) had any evidence they would have arrested Lawan immediately at the scene of the bribery which they claimed they set up.
Responding, prosecution lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the no-case submission and order the defendant to enter his defence because the prosecution had established sufficient evidence through video and oral testimonies which linked Lawan to the alleged offences.
In her ruling Justice Otaluka agreed with the submission of Awomolo and ordered Lawan to open his defence.
