Doyin Okupe, a former senior special assistant on media to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, was found guilty by the Federal High Court in Abuja of violating the Money Laundering Act.
Okupe was found guilty on Monday by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, who was presiding over the case, of violating sections 16(1) and (2) of the Money Laundering Act and taking cash over the amount permitted by the Act without going through a financial institution.
Okupe is the Director-General of the Labour Party’s Presidential Campaign Council.
Until 1:45 p.m., the Justice had halted the proceedings. This was done to allow Okupe to utilize his right to character witnesses under Section 310 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
Okupe was convicted guilty of collecting more than N200 million in cash from Col. Sambo Dasuki, a former national security adviser (retd.).
On each of the 26 counts for which he was found guilty, Justice Ojuwku sentenced him to two years with the option of a N500, 000 fine.
The judge found Okupe, the first defendant in the case brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, guilty of violating the Money Laundering Act. The judge gave Okupe until 4:30 p.m. on Monday to pay the total fine of N13 million for all the charges he was found guilty of, or else she would send him to the Kuje Correctional Center.
When deciding on Okupe’s sentence, Justice Ojukwu took into account the pleas for mercy made by the convict’s wife, Omolola Okupe, his son, Adesunkanmi Okupe, and his attorney.
The judge held that “there is no evidence that the money passed through a financial institution” and that Okupe was not a financial institution, even though the president was said to have authorized the funds, he did not say that the money must be paid in cash following the Money Laundering Act, which stated that no individual or organization shall receive any sum above N5 million and N10 million, respectively, without passing through a financial institution.
Due to the prosecution’s inability to prove the charges of money laundering, criminal breach of trust, and corruption against the NSA, the court declared the former SSA to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan guilty on counts 34, 35, 36 to 59 and freed him from counts one to 33.
Okupe was charged with accepting various payments totaling up to N10 million numerous times between 2012 and 2015 while serving as Jonathan’s SSA in charges 34 to 59, for which he was found guilty.
