The Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) announced that Doyin Okupe, its embattled Director-General, has paid a ₦13 million fine following his conviction by a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday.
Diran Onifade, the PCC Media Officer, announced this in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, ahead of the party’s rally in the state on Tuesday.
He stated that as the party that upholds the rule of law, its officials will promptly obey court judgments.
However, Onifade stated that appealing the judgment is a personal decision made by Okupe that the PCC cannot influence.
Earlier on Monday, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu convicted Okupe of receiving more than ₦200 million in cash from former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki.
The court ruled that Okupe’s actions, as the first defendant in the suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), violated the Money Laundering Act.
While stating that the Act provides that no individual or organization shall receive any sum above ₦5 million and ₦10 million respectively without passing through a financial institution, the judge held that “there is no evidence that the money passed through a financial institution”.
According to Justice Ojukwu, the NSA is not a financial institution, and even if the president was said to have authorized the funds, he did not state that the money had to be paid in cash, which would violate money laundering laws.
As a result, the court found the first defendant, Okupe, guilty on counts 34, 35, 36, and 59.
However, the Judge found the defendants not guilty in counts 1 through 33 because the prosecution failed to establish the charge of money laundering and criminal breach of trust and corruption against the NSA.
Okupe was accused in counts 34 to 59 of receiving various sums ranging from N10 million on various occasions between 2012 and 2015 while serving as SSA to President Goodluck Jonathan.
The court sentenced Okupe to two years imprisonment on count 34 with an option of a fine.
