Hearing commences Tuesday in the trial of the former Chairman, House of Representative Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy, Farouk Lawan, for allegedly obtaining $620,000 bribe money from Femi Otedola, chairman of Forte Oil.

A reliable close to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission said Mr Lawan and Boniface Emenalo would stand trial before Justice Angela Otaluka of a Federal Capital Territory High Court, Lugbe, on a seven-count criminal charge bordering on obtaining $620,000 from Mr. Otedola, in order to doctor a report by his then committee in favour of Zenon Oil and Gas Ltd.

The duo were first arraigned before Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi on February 2, 2013, before the judge was elevated to the Court of Appeal.

The case was then reassigned to Justice Adebukola Banjoko, and later to Justice Otaluka.

The duo were alleged to have conspired in April 2012 to demand $3million gratification from Mr. Otedola to remove his firm from the list of oil companies indicted for the fuel subsidy scam.

The prosecution team, led by Adegboyega Awomolo, had argued before the court, that the offence contravened provisions of Section 26 (1) (c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, and punishable under Section 8 (1) of the same act.

Mr. Emenalo was separately arraigned on a seven-count charge of receiving $120,000 as gratification from Mr. Otedola for the same purpose, an offence which violates Section 10 (a)(ii) of ICPC Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 10 of the same Act.

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