Farouk Lawan, a former House of Representatives member, has been released after completing a five-year prison sentence at Kuje Prison.

Lawan, once a key figure in Nigerian politics, was convicted in 2021 of accepting a $500,000 bribe from Femi Otedola, Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd.

The Supreme Court affirmed Lawan’s sentence earlier this year, upholding the Court of Appeal’s ruling.

The unanimous decision by a five-member panel of justices cemented Lawan’s conviction on count three of the three-count charge brought against him.

Justice John Okoro wrote the lead judgment, which was delivered by Justice Tijjani Abubakar and dismissed Lawan’s appeal.

In its ruling, the apex court found no merit in the appeal. “The evidence was overwhelming, and the judgment of the Court of Appeal stands,” the court concluded.

Lawan’s legal battle ended with the confirmation of his five-year sentence for corruption, a high-profile case that sent ripples through Nigeria’s political landscape.

A former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, has regained freedom after serving a 5-year jail term in Kuje Prison.

He was convicted for receiving a bribe of $500,000 from a businessman, Femi Otedola. pic.twitter.com/ok5qKj6FEq

— Daily Nigerian (@daily_nigerian) October 22, 2024

A video circulated on Tuesday, October 22, showing the moment of Lawan’s release from Kuje prison sparked renewed discussions about corruption and accountability in Nigerian governance.

Mojisola Adeyeye, the director-general (DG) of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has appealed to the agency’s striking staff to resume work.

On October 7, the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) at NAFDAC, began an indefinite strike over issues concerning staff welfare.

Some of the issues include the review of the 2024 promotion examination results, the appointment of directors for public affairs/special duties, the training institute, and the reform of promotion examination content.

Others are the creation of a psychology officer cadre in accordance with the head of the service circular, payment of all pending burial expenses, life insurance and repatriation allowance, and salary arrears for 2022 employees.

In a letter to the striking workers on Monday, Adeyeye lamented that efforts by the management of NAFDAC to resolve the issues have not yielded results.

She cautioned that the prolonged strike “poses a potential risk to the health, safety, and security of Nigerians, as critical regulatory functions are being disrupted”.

“In addition, the cost of the strike to the agency is unquantifiable in terms of our reputation and loss of revenue. This has obvious implications as it will impact our ability to pay productivity allowance (in 2024) and other allowances that will be due in 2025,” the letter reads.

“While SSASCGOC has shown maturity in suspending its strike action, MHWUN is still bent on continuing with the industrial action. It is an ill wind that blows no good. We must put the interest of Nigeria above all else.”

Adeyeye said promotion in public service is based on competitive merit and subject to the availability of vacancies.

“The agency does not determine vacancies. It is purely the responsibility of the Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation,” Adeyeye said.

“However, the issue is being addressed as NAFDAC management has written to the head of service through the coordinating minister of health and social welfare (CMHSW) for the expansion of vacancies. The CMHSW recommended the request, and MHWUN was informed.

“Full compliance with the 2022 agreement signed with the NAFDAC council and management: The concern of the union is the gazetting of the hazard, productivity, and regulatory allowances.

“Unknown to the union, this matter has been partially addressed by the secretary to the government of the federation through the advocacy and interventions of the DG.

“The SGF has written to the minister of finance and coordinating minister of economy to approve the allowances for NAFDAC staff using the user fees.

“Payment of repatriation, burial expenses, and life insurance benefits: These issues are non-existent as benefits are paid to deserving staff members as need arises. However, the management is committed to ensuring that all outstanding claims are paid once the names of the concerned persons are forwarded accordingly.

“Payment of disengagement allowance: The notion that the payment of this allowance has been stopped is misguided.

There was no such thought from any quarter. The management is committed to ensuring that any case of delayed payment is promptly addressed.“

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-arraigned Abdulfatah Ahmed, a former governor of Kwara state, over allegations of fraud.

Ahmed was re-arraigned alongside Demola Banu, a former commissioner for finance, on Monday before Mahmood Abdulgafar, the presiding judge of a Kwara state high court, on a 14-count charge bordering on alleged stealing and mismanagement of public funds to the tune of N5.78 billion.

Their re-arraignment was due to the transfer of the former trial judge Evelyn Anyadike of the federal high court.

The defendants were first arraigned on a 12-count charge of mismanagement of public funds before Anyadike, to which they pleaded not guilty.

However, the judge was transferred in the course of trial. Hence, the case had to start de-novo.

While Ahmed featured in all 14 counts, Banu’s name did not appear in count seven, where only the former governor was accused of failure to fill out the asset declaration form offered him by officers of the anti-graft agency upon arrest, contrary to section 27(3)(c) of the EFCC Act No. 1 of 2004.

The former governor allegedly spent N1,610,730,500 meant for the security and administration of the state to charter private jets through Travel Messengers Limited, contrary to section 22(5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, and punishable under the same section.

Ahmed and his finance commissioner were accused of conspiring to steal money meant to pay salaries of teachers working with the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board and also to provide security and other infrastructural facilities for the people of the state, among others.

The duo pleaded not guilty to their respective charges when they were read to them.

Ruling on the bail applications, the presiding judge admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N100 million with two sureties each.

One of the sureties must be a permanent secretary serving or retired.

The judge adjourned the case till December 4–5 for commencement of trial.