Dr. Doyin Okupe, a Senior Special Advisor (SSA) to former President Goodluck Jonathan, was found guilty of accepting more than N200 million in cash from former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Monday.
Okupe, the first defendant in the lawsuit brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was found to have breached the Money Laundering Act, according to Justice Ojukwu’s ruling.
The Act states that no person or organization may acquire any cash above N5 million or N10 million without first passing through a financial institution. However, the judge concluded that
“There is no evidence that the money passed through a financial institution”.
Justice Ojukwu asserted that the NSA was not a financial institution, and that even though it was claimed that the President had sanctioned the monies, he did not specify that they must be paid in cash to avoid money laundering.
As a result, the court decided:
“I find the first defendant, Dr Doyin Okupe guilty in count 34, 35, 36…… 59.”
