Bobrisky served jail term in prison but enjoyed several privileges, says FG panel

An investigative panel says it has found no evidence that Idris Okuneye, a popular crossdresser known as Bobrisky, slept outside the prison walls after she was sentenced. 

Bobrisky was released from prison on August 5 after she was sentenced to six months on April 12 for abusing the naira.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, had ordered a probe after VeryDarkMan, an activist, shared a video in which Bobrisky purportedly claimed that she bribed some Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials to drop the money laundering charge against her.

In the footage, a voice allegedly belonging to Bobrisky also claimed that a “godfather”, alongside Haliru Nababa, the controller general of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), ensured she served the six-month sentence in a private apartment and not in prison.

On September 30, Tunji-Ojo constituted an investigative panel chaired by Magdalena Ajani, permanent secretary of the ministry of interior, on ‘Alleged Corruption & Other Violations Against the Nigerian Correctional Service’.

Reading the phase one report of the panel at the ministry of interior on Monday, Uju Agomoh, executive director and founder of Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), said the panel “did not find any evidence thus far that suggested that Mr Okuneye slept outside the custodial centre during the period of his imprisonment, which was from 12th April 2024 to the 5th August 2024, which is a six-month correctional sentence with the usual remission applicable”.

Agomoh said during this period, Bobrisky was transferred from the Kuje Custodial Centre to Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kirikiri-Apapa, Lagos; and then to the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, from where she was discharged after completion of her sentence.

The panel, however, said the cross-dresser’s transfer to a maximum security facility as a first offender violated Section 164A and Section 164B of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019.

“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,” the statement reads.

“It is necessary to further investigate if the above privileges provided for Okuneye Idris were financially motivated and based on corrupt practices by correctional officers.

“The panel believes that the peculiar case of the inmates and the inmates’ physical look and behaviour pose a threat, and the lack of laid-down rules for the treatment of such a case may have necessitated such privileges to be granted to Okunenye Idris.

“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 in relation to the socio-economic levels and other status of inmates.”