*Enjoyed Special Privileges In Jail, Didn’t Sleep Outside Prison, Says Panel
CONTROVERSIAL celebrity crossdresser, Idris Olarewaju Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, was arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) at the Seme border in Lagos State as he ostensible tried to flee the country, where he has refused to appear before several investigative panels probing the circumstances surrounding the service of his six-month jail term for Naira abuse.
It was gathered that Bobrisky had presented his Nigerian passport to Immigration officials dressed in a lady’s attire and immediately taken to the office of the Comptroller of Immigration, Seme Area Command, Abdullahi Adamu, where be was questioned.
He was said to have created a mild drama at the border post as security operatives stumbled over themselves to catch a glimpse of him.
The arrest of Bobrisky, who was trying to cross over from the Nigerian border into neighbouring Benin Republic when he was arrested.
Social media activist, Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), via an Instagram post on Monday, broke news on the arrest of Bobrisky, which has been officially confirmed by NIS.
An Immigration official, who craved anonymity, had earlier told an online news medium that “Bobrisky was arrested at midnight and detained until this morning and he’s currently being moved to the Lagos Zone of the NIS in Ikeja.”
The source noted that he was trying to leave Nigerian unnoticed when he was arrested, adding: “He gave his passport to someone to stamp it for him, so the officer saw the name immediately among others and requested that he should come down from the vehicle.”
This was later confirmed by the Public Relations Officer of NIS, Kenneth Udo, who explained that Bobrisky was arrested because he is “a person of interest over recent issues of public concern.”
Udo, in a statement issued in Abuja, said: “In keeping with its commitment to securing the borders, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) intercepted Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju, otherwise known as Bobrisky, at the Seme Border over an attempt to exit the country.
“He is undergoing interrogation and will be handed over to the appropriate authorities for further action.
“The Service assures the public that it will continue to be civil and professional in its statutory responsibility of manning the Country’s Borders.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said government would act on the submitted report of the investigative panel on Bobrisky.
The panel, headed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Magdalene Ajani, also had the Executive Director and Founder of Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), Uju Agomoh, as its Secretary, submitted the summary of a 109-page report to the minister on Monday, October, dismissed the allegation that Bobrisky spend his terms outside the prison facility.
The panel, which confirmed that Bobrisky and Abdulrasheed Maina enjoyed some privileged treatments from prison officials, took exceptions to such and recommended appropriate disciplinary actions against officials responsible.
According to Agomoh: “The panel did not find any evidence thus far that suggested that 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.”
She stated that during this period, Bobrisky was transferred from the Kuje Custodial Centre to the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kirikiri-Apapa, Lagos State, and then to the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, from where he was discharged after the completion of his sentence.
Agomoh said the panel found out that Bobrisky enjoyed several privileges while in both custodial centres, including furnished single cells, humidifier and lots of visits by his family members and friends.
The panel, however, said his transfer to a maximum security facility, as a first offender, violated Section 164A and Section 164B of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019, adding: “The panel also found that Okuneye Idris enjoyed several privileges while in custody, both at the Medium Security and the Maximum Security Custodial Centres, which include, especially 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 Okuneye 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.”
An official of the custodian centre told the House of Representatives panel on a visit to Kirikiri Prisons ward where Bobrisky was held that he had both male and female organs; hence kept in a special cell.
The minister assured that the panel’s reports would not be swept under the carpet, as erring officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), would be made to face the full wrath of the law.
“Let me assure you that any officer(s) found wanting, according to the report, will go through the necessary disciplinary process of the Board. We will make sure their actions are meted with appropriate sanctions that the law demands.
“We will release the reports to Nigerians. The era where you erred and there is no repercussion is gone. To every action, there must be a reaction. Once you erred or you deliberately violated the law, then there must be repercussions,” the minister stated.
The panel was set up by the minister to investigate allegations that Bobrisky did not spend his time in prison, but paid some NCoS officials to avoid spending his term behind their facility.
The House of Representatives is currently investigating bribery allegations against EFCC officials and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).
Recall that VDM had leaked an audio recording in which Bobrisky was heard claiming to have paid some EFCC officials N15million to drop money laundering charges against him, also claiming not to have spent the six-month jail term for the Naira abuse conviction in Kirikiri Prison due to the influence of a godfather.
But Bobrisky has repeatedly denied the voice in the recording as his.
Following the revelation, Bobrisky and VDM were summoned by the House of Representatives for questioning, but Bobrisky failed to show up.
