The investigative panel set up by the minister of interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo to investigate the allegation that a cross dresser, Mr Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, served his six-month jail term outside the prison, has submitted its findings.
Presenting the report to the minister in Abuja on Monday, a member of the panel and executive director and founder of Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action, Mr Uju Agomoh, gave Bobrisky a clean bill of health on the allegation.
Recall that Bobrisky was sentenced on April 12 for abusing the naira and was released in August.
A controversial social media personality, Mr Martins Ortse, also known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), had shared an audio recording in which Bobrisky allegedly claimed to have paid N15 million to the officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to drop the money laundering charges against him.
In the same audio, Bobrisky mentioned a “godfather” and staff from the Nigerian Correctional Service who supposedly ensured he served his sentence in a private apartment rather than in prison.
On September 30, the minister instituted an investigative panel chaired by the permanent secretary of the ministry of interior, Ms Magdalena Ajani, to probe alleged corruption and violations within the Nigerian Correctional Service.
Reading the phase one report of the investigative panel, he said no evidence was found to support that the cross dresser slept outside the custodial facility during his imprisonment from April 12 to August 5.
“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 5th August 2024, which is a six-month correctional sentence with the usual remission applicable,” he said.
The panel, according to her, found that Bobrisky was transferred between various facilities, including the Kuje Custodial Centre and the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kirikiri-Apapa, Lagos, before ultimately being moved to a maximum security custodial centre, where he served out his imprisonment.
However, Agomoh said Bobrisky enjoyed numerous privileges while in incarceration.
“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 report stated.
The panel noted that Bobrisky’s transfer to a maximum security facility as a first-time offender violated sections 164A and 164B of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019.
There were indications that he may have also had access to his phone.
In light of their findings, the panel recommended establishing clear guidelines to govern the treatment of inmates and to prevent discriminatory practices based on socioeconomic status or other factors in future cases.
“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.”
