The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has disclosed reasons why Doyin Okupe, a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS).
TalkGlitz had reported that Doyin Okupe was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport on his way to London by DSS at the instance of the EFCC, Thursday morning.
Later that day, Okupe announced that he had been released and that senior EFCC officials had apologized for the “error.”
In a statement, EFCC spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren explained that the DSS had acted on a watchlist request that had been made in July 2016, prior to Okupe’s recent conviction on money laundering charges by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
“The Department of State Services, DSS, today, January 12, informed the commission of the interception of Dr Doyin Okupe, former presidential adviser, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos,” Uwujaren said.
“The service acted on a watch-list request issued on July 18, 2016, over six years before his recent conviction on money laundering charges by the Federal High Court, Abuja.
“The commission was in the process of formally lifting the watch list before his interception and will expedite action in this regard.”
In December 2022, Okupe was sentenced to two years imprisonment or the option to pay a fine — totalling N13 million — over breach of the Money Laundering Act.
He paid the fine shortly after the sentencing.
Following the conviction, Okupe stepped down as the director-general of the LP presidential campaign council.
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