I won’t go to prison despite court ruling – Okupe

The Director General of the Labour Party, LP, presidential campaign council, Doyin Okupe has said he would not be imprisoned despite his conviction.

Newsmen reports that an Abuja Federal High Court, on Monday, convicted Okupe for breaching the money laundering act.

Okupe was found guilty of 26 out of the 59 counts charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu ordered that the 26 counts, which attracted a 2-year jail term each, would run concurrently.

The judge, however, gave an option of a N500,000 fine in each of the counts, amounting to N13 million, which must be paid before 4:30 pm on Monday.

Ojukwu ordered that Okupe be moved to Kuje Correctional Centre to serve his prison term if he fails to meet the option of a fine within the time frame.

However, Okupe’s legal team said its client would not be imprisoned due to a fine option issued by the court.

A statement by the legal team said Okupe would emerge victorious despite the court’s ruling.

The statement reads: “Contrary to false and ill-advised news circulating around the social media, our client, Dr Doyin Okupe was not, and would not be serving jail time of any sort.

“The honourable court, in its magnanimity, made an order for the option of a prison sentence “OR” an option of payment of a fine in lieu of prison sentence.

“Our client has preferred the option of payment of a fine in lieu of prison sentence and, as it stands, remains a free man with liberty to go about his personal and political engagements.

“For the records, our client’s reputation remains untainted, with his only blemish being that he was a victim of circumstance of the provisions of the Money Laundering Act which was construed aggressively against him.

“Regardless of the circumstances, our client remains a VICTOR.”