By Abiola Olawale
Farouk Lawan, a former member of the House of Representatives, has appreciated President Bola Tinubu for granting him a presidential pardon.
The New Diplomat reports that on Thursday, Tinubu, during a National Council of State meeting, granted a presidential pardon to Lawan and several others.
Among others are one of Nigeria’s founding fathers, Herbert Macaulay, and former FCT minister in the Babangida regime, Major General Mamman Vatsa (retd).
Tinubu also granted a posthumous pardon to Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC).
The President also pardoned four former convicts, including former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, Anastasia Daniel Nwaobia, Barrister Hussaini Umar, and Ayinla Saadu Alanamu. They were pardoned to enable them to integrate into society, having demonstrated sufficient remorse. Nweke Francis Chibueze, serving a life sentence for cocaine, was pardoned, along with Dr Nwogu Peters, who had served 12 out of his 17-year sentence for fraud.
Reacting to his pardon, Lawan, in a press statement, said his hope has been renewed.
He stated: “To a fatherly, compassionate, and decisive political leader, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, God, and history shall remember you.
“Mr President has cast a warm blanket over me, pulling me back from the harshness of yesterday’s cold. A day like this is not for a long treatise.
“I lie, prostrate, utterly humble in my heart and entire being, grateful for the mercy which Allah (SWT), through Mr. President and my country, has shown me.
“During the eclipse at noon of my life, a path designed by destiny, a past with which I am fully reconciled, my family, friends, and associates stood by me through thick and thin, their light became my singular unfailing beacon. I remain eternally indebted to you. May Allah (SWT) recompense you.
“Throughout those moments of sober reflection, my faith in the greatness of our Fatherland never wavered, nor did my resolve to contribute to it ever weaken. A re-dedication to the ideals of Nigeria is upon me. My hope is renewed.
“My family and I, along with my friends and associates in Kano State and across Nigeria, are indescribably grateful to Mr. President for drafting me back into active citizenship with its unavoidable service imperative.
The New Diplomat reports that Lawan, who represented the Bagwai/Shanono constituency of Kano state in the House of Representatives, was accused of demanding $3 million from Femi Otedola, the billionaire businessman, to remove Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited (Otedola’s former company) from the list of oil companies allegedly involved in the petrol subsidy fraud in 2012.
He was arraigned on seven counts of bribery by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
On June 22, 2021, a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Apo convicted Lawan on all three counts and sentenced him to seven years in prison.
In February 2022, a court of appeal discharged and acquitted the former lawmaker on two of the three counts on which he was convicted.
The appellate court affirmed his conviction on one count. The jail term was also reduced from seven to five years.
In January 2024, the Supreme Court affirmed Lawan’s conviction and upheld the verdict of the Court of Appeal.
In October 2024, he was released after serving his five-year jail term.
