The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday convicted former Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe.
Okupe bagged two years sentence for accepting money in excess of the stipulated Money Laundering Act.
He was found guilty of 26 out of a 59-count charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Okupe is currently the Director General of Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the Labour Party (LP).
Omolola, Okupe’s wife and son, Adesunkanmi begged the court to temper justice with mercy.
In a judgment, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu found Okupe guilty of contravening sections 16(1)&(2) of the Money Laundering Act, for accepting cash payments without going through financial institution, in excess of the N5 million threshold allowed under the Act.
The presiding judge, sentenced Okupe to two years in prison on each of the counts.
However, the sentence is to run concurrently.
Additionally, the judge said the convict is at liberty to pay a N500,000 fine on each of the counts totalling N13 million.
The EFCC had arraigned Okupe, in 2019 on a 59-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering and diversion of funds to the tune of N702 million.
He was arraigned alongside two companies – Value Trust Investment Ltd and Abrahams Telecoms Ltd.
Okupe was said to have received cash from the office of the national security adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki, the NSA at the time.
The judge said the NSA is not a financial institution and although the former president allegedly authorised the funds, he did not specify a cash payment in violation of the Money Laundering Act.
“I find the first defendant, Dr. Doyin Okupe, guilty on counts 34, 35, 36, to 59,” the court ruled.
The judge, however, found the defendants not guilty on counts one to 33 on the grounds that the prosecution failed to establish the charge of money laundering, criminal breach of trust, and corruption against the NSA.
