Greed sans borders

Editorial

For Farouk Lawan, a former member of the House of Representatives, it was time to pay for the crime he committed when, on June 22, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Apo, Abuja, found him guilty of demanding and receiving bribe from billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola. Lawan had sown the seed of the crime in 2012, when he was chairman of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy.

According to Otedola, Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, his company was not involved in the fuel subsidy regime which the Lawan committee was investigating. Nonetheless, the former lawmaker approached him, offering to have his company’s name removed from the list of firms indicted for subsidy fraud. This apparently unwarranted offer was not for free: Otedola said Lawan asked for $3million bribe for the unsolicited service.

At this point, it was clear to Otedola that Lawan only wanted to extort money from him and he decided to play along by organising a sting operation in conjunction with the Department of State Services (DSS). Lawan was given $500,000 provided by the DSS, in two tranches, as part-payment. The lawmaker was blinded by his greed such that he did not see that a trap had been set for him. He fell for it and the matter was reported to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), which eventually prosecuted the case on behalf of the Federal Government.

Justice Angela Ataluka who tried the case said: “Count one of the charges is not based on suspicion but on credible evidence. The defendant (Mr Lawan) corruptly asked for $3million and received a $500,000 bribe in two tranches from Femi Otedola.”  The court consequently found Lawan guilty of the three charges against him and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment for the first count; seven years for the second; and five years for the third count. However, the terms will run concurrently, meaning he would spend seven years in jail. In addition, he is to return the $500,000 bribe.

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Sad as the case may be, it is sadder still that Lawan is only a metaphor for the corruption in Nigeria. It is the greed for such ill-gotten wealth that makes many politicians see election as a do-or-die affair.

It is regrettable that a committee which was supposed to unearth the corruption in the fuel subsidy regime, a thing that the masses of this country, including those in Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency of Kano State that the lawmaker represented between 1999 and 2015 were supposed to benefit from, was itself headed by an unworthy and greedy representative. Assuming Otedola’s firm had indeed been involved in the subsidy racket, so that was how its name would have been deleted from the list of culprits just by its owner greasing the itchy palms of the chairman of the committee investigating the subsidy fraud?

Indeed, it is characters like Lawan that arm the government the convenient excuse that it could not continue to sustain subsidy because of the racketeering surrounding it. It is now clear why we have not been able to make a headway on the subsidy fraud in particular, and corruption in general.

There is also the larger implication for good corporate governance. Where did Lawan expect any company to find that kind of money to pay for a crime that the company was not even involved in? What volume of business will a company do to make such a huge profit that would enable it cough up $3million bribe? And, if such could be attempted on a man of Otedola’s stature, we pity the small fry that would have suffered this kind of injustice in silence.

It is however gratifying that Lawan’s colleagues promptly removed him as chairman of the subsidy committee, following the grievous allegation in 2012. That was the best they could do to redeem their image and ensure credibility for the outcome of the committee’s assignment.

All things considered, Lawan and others like him in public office should hide their heads in shame. As a matter of fact, the seven years he got for the crime is like a slap on the wrist, considering the ramifications of his greed.

It is good that Lawan got his comeuppance at last. But we must point out that the matter dragged for too long in court. This, indeed, is the bane of our judicial process. We note the observation of the trial judge, (the fourth judge to try the matter) that the case suffered several adjournments before landing at her “doorstep.” This is how our elite delay the judicial process. Knottier cases do not last that long in other climes. This was a clear case that we all saw on television how the saga played out. There is no basis for it lasting this long in court.