The Federal High Court Abuja has found politician, Dr Doyin Okupe, guilty of receiving over N200 million cash from former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki and also sentenced him to two years imprisonment.
Okupe was a media aide to former president Goodluck Jonathan, and was among many officeholders and other individuals accused of collecting humongous amounts of money from the then NSA, Dasuki.
Ruling on the case, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu stated that Okupe was guilty of contravening sections 16(1) & (2) of the Money Laundering Act, by accepting cash payments without going through a financial institution, in excess of the threshold allowed under the Act.
Ojukwu however stood down proceedings till 1:45 pm for Okupe to exercise his right under Section 310 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) to call witnesses to testify about his character, before the court could proceed to pronounce his sentence.
Upon resumption, Justice Ojukwu held that the action of Okupe, who is the first defendant in the suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), violated the Money Laundering Act. He was found guilty on counts 34 to 59 of the charges.
The court sentenced Okupe, who is the Director-General of the Peter Obi Campaign Organisation, to two years imprisonment on count 34 with an option of a fine of N500,000.
