A prominent presidential candidate named Peter Obi’s campaign manager was found guilty of money laundering by a Nigerian High Court in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Doyin Okupe was found guilty of collecting more than $400,000 (£330,000) from a person without following the proper procedures in addition to other offenses.
The presidential candidacy of Mr. Obi is expected to suffer a serious setback as a result.
He is thought to be one of the leading candidates to succeed as the current president of the nation.
Just two months remain till the elections. Okupe, a crucial ally and the director-general of Mr. Obi’s campaign organization.
Okupe was accused of money laundering and cash misappropriation in 2019 by Nigeria’s anti-corruption body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Before he started working for Mr. Obi, he did this. He was charged with receiving more money than was permitted in 2015 without disclosing it to the authorities.
Having admitted that Okupe had broken the Money Laundering Act, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu sentenced him to two years in prison with the possibility of probation if he paid a fine.
The Obi campaign and Okupe’s attorneys have not yet responded to the ruling.
Without the support of either of Nigeria’s two major political parties, Mr. Obi is running. However, he has gained a lot of support from young people by positioning himself as a change from corrupted previous leaders and parties.
Because of this, political analysts are now saying that this development might change how the presidential race in February develops.
There are 18 candidates in all, including Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC and Atiku Abubakar of the opposition PDP, the two major political parties in the nation. Mr. Obi is one of them.
