•Obi’s ex-campaign DG held on 2016 watch list
The Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday said it had arrested the former Director General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council (LP-PCC), Doyin Okupe.
In a terse statement, spokesman of the service Dr. Peter Afunanya said Okupe was arrested at the instance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at Terminal 1 of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.
It said the erstwhile presidential aide had been handed over to the anti-graft agency.
The statement reads: “Doyin Okupe was intercepted by the DSS at Terminal 1 of Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, this morning at the instance of the EFCC.
“He has long been handed over to the commission, which requested for the action. Okupe was billed to fly to London via Virgin Atlantic.”
Also, Okupe yesterday said he was erroneously arrested by operatives of the DSS.
The service had said the arrest was made at the instance of the EFCC.
But commenting on the development via his Twitter account, Okupe wrote: “I was arrested and detained at the MMIA, Lagos, this morning, January 12, on my way to the UK for medicals; years after my passport had been withheld by the FHC Abuja.
“I just left the EFCC office where senior officers in Lagos and Abuja apologised to me for the error.”
The LP chieftain described the arrest as an “occupational hazard”.
Okupe recently stepped down as the director general of the LP presidential campaign, following his conviction over money laundering charges.
Read Also: BREAKING: Okupe confirms release from EFCC custody
In a letter addressed to LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and dated December 20, 2022, Okupe said he did not want his “personal travails” to become a source of distraction for the campaign.
“In the circumstances, I have opted to step aside and plead that you appoint a new Campaign DG who can continue the assignment with zero distractions,” he had said.
Okupe, who was sentenced to two years imprisonment, was given the option to pay N500,000 fine on each of the counts — totalling N13 million.
He paid the fine shortly after the sentencing.
Also, the EFCC yesterday commented on the arrest of the erstwhile spokesman to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The ex-Director General of the Peter Obi-Datti Baba Ahmed Campaign was detained earlier in the day.
The former presidential adviser confirmed that he was heading to the UK for medical attention.
EFCC’s Head of Media Wilson Uwujaren said the DSS informed the commission of the interception.
The commission’s spokesperson noted that the security agency acted on a watch list request issued on July 18, 2016.
That was six years before Okupe’s recent conviction on money laundering charges by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
“The commission was in the process of formally lifting the watch list before his interception and will expedite action in this regard,” Uwujaren added.
Okupe, who has been released, announced that EFCC senior officers in Lagos and Abuja “apologised for the error”.