Doyin Okupe
By EZEKIEL OBI, Abuja –
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says the Department of State Services (DSS) acted on a 2016 watch list request to arrest former campaign DG of Labour Party, Doyin Okupe at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Thursday morning.
EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, who stated this in a statement, said the anti-graft agency was in the process of formally lifting the watch list on Okupe before his interception by the secret police on Thursday morning.
Mr. Uwujaren, however, said the EFCC would expedite action and remove the Labour Party (LP) chieftain from its watch list.
He said: “The Department of State Services, DSS, today, January 12, informed the Commission of the interception of Dr. Doyin Okupe, former presidential adviser, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos,”
“The Service acted on a Watch-list request issued on July 18, 2016, over six years before his recent conviction on money laundering charges by the Federal High Court, Abuja.
“The Commission was in the process of formally lifting the watch-list before his interception and will expedite action in this regard.”
The DSS had announced Okupe’s arrest on Thursday morning at the Lagos airport just as he tried to catch London flight via Virgin Atlantic. The secret police also said the LP chieftain’s arrest was at the instance of EFCC.
However, hours later, Okupe, in a tweet, said he had been released, adding that security agents “apologised” to him for “the error”.
