An ally of Peter Obi, a high-profile presidential candidate in Nigeria, says he was arrested in “error” with just weeks to the polls.
Doyin Okupe was detained on Thursday morning on his way to London by the Department of State Security (DSS), who said it was at the insistence of Nigeria’s anti-corruption regulator.
Mr Okupe was then handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
But he seems to have been held for only a short while as he tweeted that senior officers in Abuja and Lagos “apologised” to him for their mistake, and described being arrested as an “occupational hazard”.
Last month Mr Okupe was, among other charges, convicted of money-laundering but avoided prison after paying fine.
He was convicted of receiving more than $400,000 (£330,000) from an individual without following the correct procedures. This was before he began working for Mr Obi, a front-runner in the race to become Nigeria’s next president in elections in February.
During his brief detention, the EFCC did not respond to messages to ascertain if Mr Okupe was in its custody and what he was being held for.
Mr Okupe was forced to resign as the director-general of the Obi campaign after his conviction but has continued to work for him.
BBC News
