By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Doyin Okupe, has been convicted by a federal high court sitting in Abuja.
Mr Okupe defected to the Labour Party from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and was made the DG of the campaign team of the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, who also left the PDP.
The Ogun State-born politician served as the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
After Mr Jonathan lost the election in 2015 to President Muhammadu Buhari, the current administration went after the National Security Adviser (NSA) under the previous government, Mr Sambo Dasuki.
He was accused of embezzling funds meant for the purchase of arms to the military and shared to officials of the Jonathan administration, including Mr Okupe, who was arraigned in court.
Ruling on the matter on Monday, December 19, 2022, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu held that Mr Okupe was guilty of contravening sections 16(1) & (2) of the Money Laundering Act.
The judge convicted him for accepting cash payments, about N702 million, without going through the financial institution, in excess of the threshold allowed under the Act.
He was sentenced to two years imprisonment on count 34 with an option of a fine of N500,000 and two years imprisonment on counts 35 to 59 with an option fine of N500,000.
The option of fine is to run consecutively on each count while the sentence is to run concurrently, while the sentence is to run from the day of delivering the judgment.
