The Presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has slammed the sanction placed on the embattled former Director-General of Peter Obi Campaign Organization, Dr. Doyin Okupe.
Sowore wondered the kind of justice that gives a fine of N13million to a felon who stole N750million from his country’s commonwealth.
It would be recalled that the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu found Okupe guilty of breaching the Money Laundering Act and convicted him to two years in prison with an option of N13million fine.
Okupe, who decided to pay the fine to avoid imprisonment, resigned his position, in a letter to his principal, the Presidential Candidate of the party, Peter Obi.
Reacting in an interview with Vanguard, Sowore said Nigerians have yet to get the right justice with the treatment of the case of Doyin Okupe.
The presidential candidate, who is also the publisher of Sahara Reporters, claimed that he was the first person to accuse Okupe openly of money laundering when the latter was the Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan of Public Affairs.
“I had an encounter with Doyin Okupe 2013 on Al Jazeera and accussed him openly of money laundering and that he should not be speaking on behalf of Nigerians. He first laughed and claimed that I was paid to malign him.
“Nine years later the judgement came that he was engaging in money laundering, but nobody remembers me anymore regarding nine years ago that I encountered him on Al Jazeera and accused him publicly on international channel that he was enaging in money laundering,” he added.
Speaking further, Sowore lamented that Okupe’s case took nine years, adding that “for somebody who stole N720 million is asked to refund N13 million. What fraction of justice is that? It’s wrong.
The publisher wondered where Okupe got the N13million fine he paid to avoid going to jail.
He said, “He (Okupe) should have been made to refund that amount plus the bank interest rate since the time the money was traced to his account.
“He didn’t get the proper justice (conviction). They were accusing him of being in possession of an amount of money higher than is allowed – N65 million. They did not accuse him directly that he was engaging in money laundering.
“I guess he must have made some arrangements because you could see that he was confident during the first session of the trial when he was convicted but had not been sentenced.
“He was saying everybody should calm down, so when the sentence came for him to go and pay N13 million or go to 2 years in jail, before 4:20 pm he had already paid the money and nobody is asking even within the media where he got the money from.
“I hope it’s not the contribution of members of Labour Party, because that will be another crime of money laundering because I don’t know that Doyin Okupe has a real job.”