A
member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, and the Secretary
of the Ad Hoc Committee on Monitoring of Fuel Subsidy Regime, Boniface
Emenalo, who are being detained at Kuje Prison, Abuja, on a court order,
are enjoying special treatment that includes food cooked outside the
prison wall.
Both of them are being kept in a ‘choice cell’ befitting their status as Very Important Personalities.
It was learnt that Lawan had remained reserved and withdrawn on being booked into the prison by officials.
Our correspondent gathered that his
relations were making plans to reach an understanding with the
management of the prison to allow them bring in a new mattress for the
lawmaker.
Findings indicated that when Lawan and
Boniface Emenalo got to the prison facility, the atmosphere changed as
the inmates on hearing about the calibre of the new detainees, were
happy that their living condition would change during the stay of the
lawmakers.
A prison source who pleaded anonymity
said, “Lawan and Emenalo were kept in the same cell, but they have said
they will not eat the general food cooked in the facility. They have
made arrangements to have their food brought to them from home by their
family members.
“The prison authorities are not according
them any special privilege, but being a lawmaker, Lawan cannot be
treated like a common criminal because of his status, and besides, they
have not been convicted yet.”
The prison officials were said to have
been briefed by their superior officers on how to comport themselves
throughout the lawmaker’s stay to avoid leaving the VIPs with a poor
impression of the prison Service and its officials.
The Public Relations Officer, Nigerian
Prison Service, Kayode Odeyemi, could not be reached for comments as he
was said to have travelled out of the country.
Lawan and Emenalo were remanded in prison
custody on Friday following their arraignment by the Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission for allegedly
receiving $620,000 as bribe from an oil mogul, Femi Otedola, when Farouk
served as the chairman of the committee.
They denied the allegation with Lawan, claiming that he collected the money in order to expose Otedola’s attempt to bribe him.
They will spend a week in prison before the court determines whether to grant or refuse their bail application.
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