Suspended lawmaker, Farouk Lawan, currently under investigation in a $620,000 bribery scandal, has returned from his long visit to Saudi Arabia. The former chairman of the fuel subsidy probe panel of the House of Representatives reported to the police headquarters in Abuja to announce his return to the country.

The Vanguard reported that Lawan had gone to Saudi for Umrah, a religious obligation he was granted the permission to observe.

Lawan stands accused of demanding and receiving bribes from oil magnate Femi Otedola, owner of Zenon Oil and Gas Plc. Otedola, who claims to be innocent of oil subsidy fraud, says Lawan had indicted his firm on baseless grounds and demanded $3 million in bribes from him in order to clear his company’s name.

Otedola, allegedly working in a sting operation, had given $500,000 in cash to Lawan and another $120,000 to panel secretary Boniface Emenalo. However, both Lawan and Emenalo say they had been approached with the bribes and had never demanded it.

The pair had undergone long investigations at the hands of the police force who announced about a month ago that they had concluded their investigations and have sent a report to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.

So far, the AGF is yet to take any legal action against Lawan, although sources say the pair are due to appear in court soon.