The Minister for Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, believes that the Bobrisky affair reflects deeper institutional issues within the country.
Bobrisky, a popular cross-dresser whose real name is Idris Okuneye, has been caught up in controversy over his imprisonment for currency misuse.
In a viral audio recording, the cross-dresser claimed to have paid certain officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) for preferential treatment while in prison.
According to Tunji-Ojo, this incident, which has been a topic of public discussion for months, highlights underlying institutional issues.
“When you have an institutional problem, a knee-jerk approach isn’t the solution,” he said on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“We set up that committee to investigate all the issues, beyond Bobrisky, beyond cases of absconding—it’s a systemic problem.”
Tunji-Ojo stated that institutional reform in Nigeria is essential to prevent similar issues from arising in the future.
“We cannot carry today’s problems into tomorrow,” the Home Secretary noted.
A blogger, Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, alleged in viral audio clips that some Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officers collected ₦15 million from Bobrisky during his currency-spraying incident in April, as part of a deal to drop money laundering charges. Following this, a court sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment in April 2024, and he was released in August.
The blogger also claimed that Bobrisky paid several million naira to secure preferential accommodations in prison.
Bobrisky has denied the allegations, while the EFCC and NCoS have both initiated investigations in response.
The House of Representatives has also stepped in, summoning those involved for an inquiry, and the Federal Government has suspended several senior NCoS officers.
On 30 September 2024, Tunji-Ojo inaugurated a committee to investigate allegations of serious misconduct within the NCoS.
Subsequently, the panel reported that it “found no evidence so far to suggest that Okuneye stayed outside the custodial centre during his sentence, from 12 April 2024 to 5 August 2024, which was a six-month correctional term with the usual remission applied.”