The Supreme Court has affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal which sentenced a former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, to five years in prison for receiving a bribe of $500,000 from businessman Femi Otedola.

In the lead judgment prepared by Justice John Okoro and read by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, the apex court held that Lawan’s appeal was unmeritorious.

Lawan’s appeal is seeking to set aside the February 24, 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which sentenced him to a five-year jail term and discharged him on two out of the three counts on the corruption charge brought against him by the Federal Government.

Lawan was convicted to 7 years in prison by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in APO, on June 22, 2021, on a three-counts charge of soliciting a bribe, agreeing to accept a bribe, and actually accepting a $500,000 bribe from businessman, Femi Otedola.