The Supreme Court has set January 26, 2024, as the date for its decision in the appeal of Farouk Lawan, a former member of the House of Representatives who is currently imprisoned.
After counsel for the parties made their last comments and submitted their written briefs, a five-member panel chaired by Justice John Okoro decided the date.
According to News About Nigeria, Lawan’s appeal seeks to overturn the February 24, 2022, judgement of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which condemned him to five years in prison and dismissed him on two of the three counts of corruption filed by the Federal Government against him.
Although his request for bail was scheduled for consideration until the outcome of his appeal, the court chose to hear the main appeal rather than wasting time on the interlocutory application since the appeal was ready for hearing on its own.
His Counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joseph Daudu, urged the court to hear the bail motion first since his client’s health was jeopardised.
Lawan, according to Daudu, has stage three prostrate cancer, with no guarantee of survival if it progresses to stage four.
However, after recognising that the court was reluctant to change its mind, Daudu filed a motion to withdraw the bail plea, following which the main appeal was filed.
He asked the court to grant his client’s appeal and to vacate the Court of Appeal’s decision.
Daudu acknowledged that the Court of Appeal dismissed him on charges one and two, which carried a maximum sentence of seven years.
Daudu contended that if the Court of Appeal could release his client on the two charges, which he said had the same components as the third count, the Supreme Court should release him on the third count as well.
Bagudu Sanni, counsel for the Federal Government, requested the court to uphold the Court of Appeal’s decision and dismiss the appeal.
In its decision, the Court of Appeal lowered Lawan’s initial maximum prison term from seven to five years.
On June 22, 2021, Lawan was convicted by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on a three-count accusation of soliciting a bribe, agreeing to take a bribe, and actually taking a $500,000 bribe from businessman Femi Otedola.
