$3m bribery scam: Court declines to stop Farouk, Emenalo’s trial

ABUJA—Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi of an Abuja
High Court sitting at Maitama, yesterday,
declined to halt further hearing on the
criminal charge that was preferred against the
former Chairman of the House of
Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on fuel
subsidy probe, Farouk Lawal, by the
Independent Corrupt Practices and other
Related Offences Commission, ICPC.
Refusing to hands-off the trial, Justice
Oniyangi, ordered both Farouk and the
erstwhile Secretary of the probe committee,
Mr. Boniface Emenalo, to appear before the
high court on November 27.
The duo had in a consolidated application they
filed through their counsel, Chief Ricky Tarfa,
SAN, sought for the stay of proceeding on
their trial until the Abuja Division of the
Appeal Court, decides on an appeal they have
lodged before it which is challenging
jurisdiction of the court to try them.
Specifically, Farouk and Emenalo were accused
of demanding and collecting bribe from the
Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd,
Otedola, as an inducement to remove the name
of his company from the report of the House
of Reps Ad-hoc committee on monitoring of
fuel subsidy regime.
ICPC alleged that they demanded an aggregate
sum of $3 million, with a view to ensuring that
the company escaped prosecution even though
the probe committee had ab-initio found it
culpable in fuel subsidy fraud.
Farouk was said to have pocketed the sum of
$620,000 as part payment for the illegal deal.
The anti-graft agency further alleged that
Emenalo, while being a public officer, an
Assistant Director and Clerk of the Committee
on Education of the House of Reps, sometime
in April 2012, while acting as the Secretary of
the Ad-hoc Committee, was offered
gratification by Otedola but failed to report
the offer to any officer of the ICPC or any
police officer.
The offence according to ICPC is contrary to
section 17 (1) (a), section 8(1) (a) (b) (ii), and
section 23 (i) of the Corrupt practices and
other Related Offences Act, 2000 and
punishable under section 8 (1) 17 (1) and 23(3)
of the same Act.