Federal Government investigative panel constituted for the controversy surrounding the jail sentence involving Nigerian crossdreser Idris Okuneye, better known as Bobrisky, has disclosed its findings.
On the 30th of September, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, constituted an investigative panel chaired by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Magdalena Ajani, on ‘Alleged Corruption & Other Violations Against the Nigerian Correctional Service.’
Tunji-Ojo ordered a probe after a controversial activist, VeryDarkMan, shared a video in which Bobrisky purportedly claimed that he bribed some Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Correctional Service officials to drop the money laundering charge against him.
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 he/she served the six-month sentence in a private apartment and not in prison.
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 found no evidence that Bobrisky slept outside the prison walls after he was sentenced but enjoyed several privileges.
He 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.”
The statement added that: “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.
“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.”