Bobrisky Faces New Criminal Charges After Indictment
Controversial Nigerian crossdresser Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, may face further criminal charges for allegedly serving his jail sentence in a private residence and bribing Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officers to drop money laundering allegations against him.
According to Lagmen Net, Bobrisky was sentenced to six months in prison on April 12 for naira abuse and freed on August 5.
On September 30, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the minister of interior, appointed an investigative panel chaired by Magdalena Ajani, the permanent secretary of the ministry of interior, to look into the controversies surrounding Bobrisky’s release.
Tunji-Ojo ordered an investigation after the controversial activist, VeryDarkMan, shared a video in which Bobrisky claimed to have bribed some EFCC officials with N15 million to drop the money laundering charge against him, as well as bribed Nigerian Correctional Service officials to serve his six-month sentence in a private apartment.
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.
However, while presenting its report, the panel said there was no evidence that Bobrisky slept outside the Kirikiri Custodial Centre during his six-month sentence.
Details of the report, obtained by Sunday PUNCH, revealed that a panel set up to investigate Bobrisky’s claims recommended that he should face defamation and criminal charges.
The panel claimed that Bobrisky harmed the penitentiary service’s reputation by making false statements, and it requested that the Department of State Services investigate if he bribed the EFCC or the correctional service, either directly or indirectly.
The panel also stated that if Bobrisky’s bribery charges are proven, he should be charged with corrupt practices.
The report stated, “The Nigerian Correctional Service should initiate defamation suits against Bobrisky under sections 373-375 of the Criminal Code Act for his bogus assertions about bypassing the prison system, which have tarnished the institution’s reputation.
The DSS should be requested to investigate whether Bobrisky, directly or through a proxy, bribed EFCC or NCoS officials. If substantiated, Bobrisky should face charges under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act for bribing public officials.”
The panel also indicted three correctional officers, including a former Controller of Corrections, Ben Rabbi-Freeman, who were recommended for disciplinary action as outlined in the NCoS’s condition of service, civil service, and applicable laws.
Rabbi-Freeman was accused of “effecting the transfer of Okuneye Idris Olarenwaju without proper documentation of Form 5 and Form 5A from the Medium-Security Custody Centre to the Maximum-Security Custodial Centre on April 22, 2024, after over four months of the transfer date, and after the inmate had ended his imprisonment term; backdating the transfer documentation in relation to 1a and 1b above.
Causing the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, Medium-Security Custodial Centre, and Maximum-Security Custodial Centre to sign backdated transfer forms for Okuneye Idris Olarenwaju.”
Similarly, Micheal Anugwa, the Deputy Controller of Corrections in charge of Kirikiri Medium Security, was recommended for disciplinary action after claiming during a parliamentary hearing that he had not been suspended despite an explicit order from the Minister of the Interior.
On April 12, 2024, he was indicted for admitting Bobrisky to the Medium Security Custodial Centre without the required papers and transfer documentation.
DCC Balogun Sikiru (retd) — formerly in-charge of the Maximum Security Custodial Centre for receiving Bobrisky into the Maximum Security Custodial Centre without the relevant documentation on April 22, 2024, and without the necessary transfer documentation, and DCC Sikiru Kamoru Adekunle, who was in charge of the Maximum Security Custodial Centre for backdating the transfer documentation in relation to receiving Okuneye Idris into the Maximum Security Custodial Centre on A
The panel also suggested an audit of all inmates and detainees in all NCoS detention institutions, as well as their warrants and other data.
Additionally, a system should be established to accomplish this and maintain it as an effective weekly oversight.
It recommended “the immediate decommercialisation of all welfare and support services to inmates, as well as the establishment of adequate funding and oversight to ensure their continuation.” This will also include developing long-term collaborations with civil society organizations (for example, relevant NGOs and professional associations) on any or all of these issues.
“Facilitate the effective implementation of non-custodial measures across the entire country to help reduce the number of people in custodial centres by utilising imprisonment only as a last resort.”
