A PANEL set up by the minister of interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to investigate the allegations against crossdresser, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, has said the convict enjoyed some privileges in prison.  

Reading the panel’s phase one report on Monday, October 21, the executive director and founder of Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), Uju Agomoh, a member of the panel, said the panel found no evidence that Bobrisky slept outside the prison walls.

“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 ICIR reported how a self-acclaimed activist, Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, shared a video on social media stating that Bobrisky paid millions of naira to some senior prison officers to enable him to stay outside the prison after he was jailed for six months for spraying naira notes.

Following the allegations, The ICIR also reported that the minister set up an investigative panel chaired by the permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, Magdalena Ajani, ordering a comprehensive investigation into the alleged corruption and other violations against the Nigerian Correctional Service.

While reading the report, Agomoh stated that Okuneye enjoyed special privileges such as a single cell, frequent visits, access to a humidifier, fridge, television, a phone and many visits from his family members and friends.

“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,” he said.

However, Agomoh pointed out that Bobrisky being moved from a medium facility to a maximum security facility as a first offender violated Section 164A and Section 164B of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019.