FG panel clears Bobrisky of allegations on prison scandal, says he served jail term but enjoyed privileges

A federal government investigative panel has found no evidence that Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, left prison or received special treatment during her six-month sentence.

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 video, a voice, allegedly Bobrisky’s, claimed that she bribed officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to drop a money laundering charge.

It was further alleged that a “godfather” and Haliru Nababa, the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), helped ensure that Bobrisky served her sentence in a private apartment instead of prison.

On September 30, 2024, Tunji-Ojo launched an investigation into the Nigerian Correctional Service, led by Magdalena Ajani, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior. The panel was tasked with looking into the allegations of corruption and other violations.

On Monday, Uju Agomoh, Executive Director of Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), presented the initial findings of the panel at the Ministry of Interior.

According to the report, there was no evidence to support claims that Bobrisky slept outside the prison facility during her imprisonment.

The report confirmed that Bobrisky served her full sentence from April 12 to August 5, with standard remission applied.

The report 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.

PRAWA’s statement reads; “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.”

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