A federal government panel investigating bribery allegations involving crossdresser Idris ‘Bobrisky’ Okuneye, has confirmed that he served a six-month jail term but benefited from certain privileges during incarceration.
The findings were disclosed on Monday by a member of the panel, Uju Agomoh, at the Ministry of Interior.
The panel’s initial report stated that there was no evidence to suggest that Bobrisky left the custodial centre at any time during the imprisonment period, which lasted from April 12 to August 5, 2024.
Bobrisky completed the correctional sentence with standard remission, as per the panel’s findings. However, the panel noted irregularities in Bobrisky’s custody transfers.
Initially detained at the Kuje Custodial Centre, the crossdresser was later transferred to the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kirikiri-Apapa, Lagos, and then to a Maximum Security facility, from where the sentence was completed.
The panel found these transfers problematic, citing violations of Sections 164A and 164B of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019, which prohibit moving first-time offenders to maximum security facilities.
The investigation is ongoing, with the panel continuing to examine any potential misconduct or special treatment during Bobrisky’s detention.
“The panel also found that Mr Okuneye Idris enjoyed several privileges while in custody, both at the Medium Security and the Maximum Security Custodial Centres, which include, especially the following: furnished single cells, humidifier, lots of visits by his family members and friends as he desired, self-feeding, designated inmates to run errands for him, access to fridge and television, and possibly access to his phone,” Mrs Agomoh said.
“The panel recommends that clear guidelines need to be set up to guide operations regarding such incidents in future.
“Steps should be taken to avoid the obvious discriminatory practices about the socio-economic levels and other status of inmates,” the panel said.
Martins ‘VeryDarkMan’ Otse alleged in viral videos that officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) collected N15 million from Bobrisky during his naira spraying incident in April, in exchange for dropping money laundering charges against him.
Subsequently, a court sentenced Bobrisky to six months imprisonment in April 2024, but he was released in August.
On September 30, 2024, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, inaugurated a committee to investigate allegations of gross misconduct within the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS).
The minister tasked the committee with investigating allegations of corruption, torture, and mistreatment of inmates by correctional officers, particularly the incident involving Bobrisky, with a two weeks deadline to submit its report.
“Nobody will be shielded. Nobody, no matter how highly placed, will be shielded,” the minister had said.
