SAN FRANCISCO, July 07, (THEWILL) –Embattled Congressmen, Hon. Farouk Lawan and Hon. Boniface Emenalo, the two lawmakers alleged to have received $620, 000 in bribes from Femi Otedola, the Chairman of Zenon Oil and Gas, during the House of Representatives probe of the fraudulent petrol subsidy programme of the federal government have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court seeking to upturn the judgement of Court of Appeal which refused to quash the charges of corruption against them.
Lawan served as Chairman, House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Regime, while Emenalo served as Secretary before they were sacked following the release of secretly recorded audio and video tapes on the bribery incidents by Otedola.
Lawan and Emenalo were subsequently docked on a seven-count charge by government on the allegations that they received $620, 000 bribe from the Zenon Oil and Gas Chairman to exclude the names of Otedola’s companies, Zenon Petroleum and Gas and Synopsis Enterprises Limited from the list of companies found to have allegedly defrauded the Federal Government of billions of naira.
Both men entered “not guilty” to the charges in court.
When the matter came up on Monday before Justice Adebukola Banjoko of an Abuja High Court, counsel to the accused persons, Mr. Akinyemi Aremu, informed the court that he had filed a motion for stay of the proceedings of the trial pending the outcome of the appeal he filed at the Supreme Court, and asked for an adjournment to enable him argue his application for stay of proceedings pending before the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division in view of his appeal at the Supreme Court.
The prosecutor, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) although did not oppose the request for adjournment told the court that he was disappointed because the application which was filed last Friday was meant to frustrate the speedy hearing of the matter.
Awomolo however asked the court for a short adjournment on the ground that judicial policy provided that criminal matters be given expeditious hearing.
Justice Banjoko therefore adjourned till October 28, 2014 for report on the outcome of the application for stay of proceedings at the Court of Appeal.
