The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that it will remove the former Director-General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Dr. Doyin Okupe, from its watch list following his arrest by the Department of State Security Service (DSS) earlier on Thursday morning at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The anti-graft agency said it was in the process of formally removing Okupe from the watch list before his arrest, but expedited action on it.
This was made known in a statement issued on Thursday by the EFCC Spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, who has earlier said that the commission would take immediate action to remove the former presidential aide from its watch list.
DSS acted on a watch-list request issued in July 2016
- Uwujaren in his statement 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.”
For catch up
The DSS had earlier on Thursday morning announced the arrest of Doyin Okupe at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport just as he tried to catch a London flight via Virgin Atlantic. The secret police also said the LP chieftain’s arrest was at the instance of EFCC.
Meanwhile, Okupe confirmed his arrest at the Lagos airport. He, however, said he has been released by the EFCC, and senior officials of the anti-graft commission “apologized” to him for “the error”.
Okupe in a tweet post on his official Twitter account said, ‘’I was arrested & detained @ the MMIA, Lagos this morning, 12th Jan 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 Snr Officers in Lagos & Abuja apologized to me for the error.’’
