The Federal Government has suspended senior prison officials following allegations of bribery involving social media personality Bobrisky. Read more about the investigation and its potential consequences.
The controversial crossdresser Idris Okuneye, sometimes known as Bobrisky, has been the subject of bribery charges, leading to the suspension of several top personnel of the Nigerian Correctional Service by the Federal Government.
In widely shared videos, blogger Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, claimed that certain EFCC officers had obtained ₦15 million from Bobrisky in exchange for the anti-graft agency dropping money laundering charges against him during his April naira spraying incident. Bobrisky was later sentenced to six months in prison by a court.
The blogger also claimed that Bobrisky bought a preferred prison spot by paying several million naira.
While the EFCC and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) had ordered investigations following the blogger’s allegations, Bobrisky has subsequently refuted them.
READ ALSO: Bobrisky: FG Orders Investigation Into Alleged Bribery and Corruption in Nigerian Prisons
The Civil Defense, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board stated in a statement on Thursday that the officers’ suspension was due to a widely shared video that purportedly showed them breaking the law.
The suspension of these officials, according to the statement signed by Ja’afaru Ahmed, is to allow for additional inquiry into the numerous charges, with the assurance that the results will be made public once they are concluded.
These officers are “Michael Anugwa, Deputy Controller of Corrections (DCC), in charge of Kirikiri, Lagos State’s Medium Security Custodial Center (MSCC); and Sikiru Adekunle, Deputy Controller of Corrections (DCC), in charge of Kirikiri, Lagos State’s Maximum-Security Custodial Center (MSCC).”
Due to allegations that he escorted a convicted prisoner from the Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC) in Afikpo, Ebonyi State, to a place outside the premises, the Board has suspended ASC II Ogbule Samuel Obinna.
“In a related development, Deputy Controller of Corrections (DCC) Iloafonsi Kevin Ikechukwu, In-Charge of the Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Kuje, Abuja, has also been suspended by the Board for allegedly accepting money on behalf of an inmate.”
