The federal government has suspended two officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) over bribery allegations involving Idris Okuneye, a popular crossdresser known as Bobrisky.
The suspension of the officials was disclosed in a statement signed by Ja’afaru Ahmed, the secretary to Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Martins Otse, better known as VeryDarkMan, shared an audio clip of Bobrisky wherein he claimed that he bribed some EFCC officials with N15 million to drop the money laundering charge against him.
In the purported recording, the crossdresser also claimed that his “godfather”, alongside Haliru Nababa, the controller general of the NCoS, ensured he served the six-month sentence in a private apartment and not in the prison.
Bobrisky was released from prison on August 5 after he was sentenced to six months on April 12 for abusing the naira.
Subsequently, the crossdresser denied the bribery claim, while arguing that the viral recording was “fake”.
The viral recording elicited varied reactions as many Nigerians called on the authorities to investigate the allegations involving EFCC and NCoS.
THREE OTHER PRISON OFFICIALS SUSPENDED
The two officers suspended over the bribery allegations are Michael Anugwa, deputy controller of corrections in charge of Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Kiri-kiri, Lagos state, and Sikiru Adekunle, deputy controller of corrections in charge of Maximum Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Kiri-kiri, Lagos state.
Ahmed also disclosed that Ogbule Samuel Obinna, an official at the MSCC, Afikpo Ebonyi, was suspended for allegedly accompanying a convicted inmate out of the custodial centre to a location outside the facility.
He added that Iloafonsi Kevin Ikechukwu, deputy controller of corrections in charge of MSCC, Kuje, Abuja, was suspended for allegedly receiving monies on behalf of an inmate.
“The suspension of these officers is to allow for further investigation on the various allegations while assuring that the outcome would be made public when concluded,” he said.
