Businessman billionaire, Femi Otedola, yesterday revealed how the Department of State Services (DSS) gave him the $500,000 he offered to an erstwhile Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy probe, Farouk Lawan.

Otedola, the Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd., stated this at the resumption of his testimony as a prosecution witness in the trial of Lawan before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Apo, Abuja.

Lawan is being tried for allegedly demanding and accepting money from Otedola to remove his companies from the list of oil companies allegedly involved in the fuel subsidy fraud.

He was accused by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) of accepting bribe.

However, Otedola, who mounted the witness box, dressed in a white agbada, to testify before Justice Angela Otaluka, disclosed that the marked foreign currency that nailed Lawan was handed to him after he wrote a petition to DSS.

He said the DSS gave him the money after he wrote a petition, complaining among others that Lawan demanded $3 million as bribe from him to remove his oil company from the list of the firms indicted by Lawan’s panel for subsidy scam.

Odetola said he petitioned the DSS immediately Lawan demanded the bribe. He explained that the $500,000 formed part payment of the $3m that Lawan demanded.

“Lawan said he was going to exonerate my company after giving him the money, security cameras were mounted in my living room to capture the exchange of money between me and the defendant,” Otedola said.

“The video is with the DSS, the money was given to him in two tranches $250,000 each.”

The judge, however, adjourned the matter till March 8 for the continuation of cross-examination of the prosecution witness.