The Nigeria Correctional Service has denied that controversial cross-dresser Idris Okuneye nicknamed Bobrisky, who was sentenced to six months in prison for abuse of naira notes, was transferred from the Ikoyi correctional centre to its other facility in Kirikiri, Lagos State.
Bobrisky was said to have been surreptitiously relocated to Kirikiri Prison last weekend, where he was scheduled to serve his sentence.
An NCoS official, however, told the media on Thursday that he was still being held in Ikoyi prison.
The officer, who requested anonymity because he was not entitled to comment on the topic, stated that the convict did not commit a capital act that warranted his transfer to a maximum-security prison, where most inmates serving life or death sentences were confined.
“Bobrisky has not been moved, he is still here in Ikoyi. He was not sentenced to death and didn’t get a life sentence either. Those people sentenced to death and given life sentences are mostly kept in the maximum prison. That is mostly based on capital punishment. As for Bobrisky, he didn’t commit a capital offence, so why would they take him to Kirikiri,” the source said.
Another official who also preferred not to be mentioned as he was not in the official capacity to speak to the press, said that although there were plans to move some inmates across the custodial centres in the state, it was still being proposed.
The NCoS official added that the move was for decongestion.
“Sometimes, when we discover that the population of inmates is much in a facility, we decide to move them just to decongest. We are only considering that at the moment and not that anyone has been moved. If the prison authorities want to move, they have the right. We also do so if the person has a communicable disease or because the inmate requested it for proximity to the family or an appeal on humanitarian grounds.
“The leadership might also say, ‘Let’s spread those who have less than one year sentence’, which may apply to Bobrisky, just to create space for those awaiting trial. But such people rarely go to the maximum prison,” the source disclosed.
Calls made to the spokesperson for the Lagos State Command of the NCS, Rotimi Oladokun, went unanswered. A text message sent to him had yet to be responded to as of the time this report was filed.
The crossdresser shares the same cell with male inmates and was examined at the point of admission while the outcome of the examination revealed that he had no realignment of gender or genital organs.
An official source who disclosed this to our correspondent added that the convicted crossdresser had been observing the rules and procedures obtained in the facility.
Bobrisky was arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. According to the commission, Bobrisky was invited due to a video report of spraying new naira notes at the premiere of Eniola Ajao’s movie titled, ‘Ajakaju’, which was held at FilmOne Circle Mall, Lekki, Lagos, on March 24, 2024.
He was convicted by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Friday, April 5, 2024, after pleading guilty to the charges of naira abuse levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The EFCC filed six counts against him, with the first four counts related to naira abuse, and the last two counts concerning alleged money laundering.
Before reading the charges, the EFCC prosecutor requested the court to dismiss counts five and six.
Bobrisky pleaded guilty to the four counts of naira abuse. Before his conviction, he asked to be pardoned, adding that he was not aware of the laws binding the naira abuse and vowed to educate his fans on social media about it.