An investigative panel says it has found no evidence that Idris Okuneye, a popular crossdresser known as Bobrisky, slept outside the prison walls after she was sentenced. 

Bobrisky was released from prison on August 5 after she was sentenced to six months on April 12 for abusing the naira.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, had ordered a probe after VeryDarkMan, an activist, shared a video in which Bobrisky purportedly claimed that she bribed some Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials to drop the money laundering charge against her.

In the footage, a voice allegedly belonging to Bobrisky also claimed that a “godfather”, alongside Haliru Nababa, the controller general of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), ensured she served the six-month sentence in a private apartment and not in prison.

On September 30, Tunji-Ojo constituted an investigative panel chaired by Magdalena Ajani, permanent secretary of the ministry of interior, on ‘Alleged Corruption & Other Violations Against the Nigerian Correctional Service’.

Reading the phase one report of the panel at the ministry of interior on Monday, Uju Agomoh, executive director and founder of Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), said 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 the 5th August 2024, which is a six-month correctional sentence with the usual remission applicable”.

Agomoh said during this period, Bobrisky was transferred from the Kuje Custodial Centre to Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kirikiri-Apapa, Lagos; and then to the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, from where she was discharged after completion of her sentence.

The panel, however, said the cross-dresser’s transfer to a maximum security facility as a first offender violated Section 164A and Section 164B of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019.

“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,” the statement reads.

“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.

“The panel recommends that clear guidelines need to be set up to guide operations regarding such incidents in future.

“Steps should be taken to avoid the obvious discriminatory practices in relation to the socio-economic levels and other status of inmates.”

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says Oyelola Yisa Ashiru, deputy majority leader of the senate, is “bad-mouthing” it because drugs were allegedly found in his home.

Last week, Ashiru, senator representing Kwara south, said the agency is the “most corrupt and compromised government agency” in the country and there is a need to establish a new organisation to curb drug addiction and trafficking.

The senator was contributing to a debate on a bill seeking to establish an institute for drug awareness and rehabilitation.

During that debate, Kawu Sumaila, senator representing Kano south, alleged that the homes of some politicians are being used to stockpile narcotics.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s director of media, said Ashiru’s outburst was because of his grouse with the agency.

“The personal house of the senator in GRA Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, had been raided in recent past, where drugs and illicit substances were recovered while two of his aides: Ibrahim Mohammed and Muhammed Yahaya were arrested,” Babafemi said.

“Based on credible intelligence and surveillance which confirmed that the senators house was being used as a drug joint for drug dealers and users, the house was raided by our operatives at 1:30pm on February 4, 2024 during which the two aides were arrested, while a third suspect escaped arrest.

“So, going by this backstory, it is deductible that these encounters that the Agency has had with the senator, must have been responsible for his outburst, and unfortunately, false allegation, the type that nobody within and outside of government has ever levelled against NDLEA before.

“Suffice it to say that in the past three years, NDLEA has emerged as a regional leader among national drug law enforcement agencies. So, come to think about it, an agency so badmouthed by Senator Ashiru couldn’t have been attracting such international goodwill and commendation for being the “most corrupt government agency” in Nigeria.

“Against the background of our encounter with people linked to him, we are wont to believe that Senator Ashiru’s invectives against NDLEA were borne out of vendetta and not any opinion made in the public interest.”

The director said in the past three years, the NDLEA has made over 52,000 arrests and secured more than 9,000 convictions.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) says its operatives have found a lifeless body of a man on the Ikeja railway track, in Agege area of the state.

Nosa Okunbor, head of LASEMA’s public affairs unit, said investigations showed that the man was hit by a moving train in the early hours of Monday.

He said the body has been deposited at the morgue.

“On arrival of the Eagle response team at the incident scene by 0902hrs, LRT discovered the body of an adult male laying dead on the railway track,” he said.

“Further investigations by the Eagle Response Team revealed that the adult male was reportedly hit by a moving train in the early hours of the day.

“Unfortunately, an unidentified adult male lost his life to the incident. The Agency’s response team recovered the body from the railway tracks.

“The response team bagged the commodity and handed it over to the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit, SEHMU. SEHMU has transferred the commodity to the morgue for further processing.”

The agencies that responded to the incident include LASEMA Response Team, Nigeria Railway Corporation, (NRC), and Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corps (LNSC).

The Yobe police command says it has arrested a woman identified as Hamsatu Modu for allegedly trafficking 350 rounds of ammunition in the state.

In a statement on Monday, Dungus Abdulkarim, Yobe police spokesperson, said a suspect was caught transporting the arms from Buni Yadi to Damaturu, the state capital.

Abdulkarim said Modu was arrested following credible intelligence about the suspect’s movement.

“On October 20, 2024, at about 1830 hours, ‘A’ Divisional Police Headquarters, Damaturu, received credible intelligence regarding a suspected gunrunner en route to Damaturu,” the statement reads.

“Swift action led to the interception of a Golf 3 saloon car, and a thorough search revealed 350 rounds of live 7.62×39 MM ammunition concealed in the suspect’s luggage.”

The spokesperson said that the suspect is being interrogated to “uncover the motives and dismantle the underlying criminal organization.”

Garba Ahmed, Yobe police commissioner, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to combating crime.

He called for the cooperation and vigilance of residents against suspicious activities in their neighbourhoods.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says those challenging its legality are “feeling the heat” of anti-graft war.

In an interview with Channels Television on Monday, Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC’s director of public affairs, said the agency is “worried and shocked” about the suit in view of the “corruption problem” in the country.

BACKGROUND

Recently, attorneys-general of 16 states of the federation filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of the law establishing the EFCC.

The states argued that in enacting the law in 2004, the national assembly failed to adhere to section 12 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which governs the incorporation of international treaties into domestic law.

They noted that the EFCC Act cannot be applied to states that did not give their consent to its creation.

The supreme court had fixed October 22 to hear the suit filed by the 16 states.

In two letters addressed to the constitution review committees of the senate and house of representatives, Olisa Agbakoba, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), said EFCC was not constitutionally established.

Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, and some civil society organisations have faulted the suit.

‘NIGERIA CAN’T SURVIVE WITHOUT US’

Uwujaren said the establishment of the EFCC followed due process in the national assembly while calling on Nigerians to reject the move to “derail” the operations of the agency.

“I am worried that with the kind of problem we have with corruption in this country, some people will go to court to challenge the legality of EFCC,” he said.

“What you see playing out today is simply people who are feeling the heat of the work of the EFCC, and they simply want to derail what is going on within the EFCC. They see EFCC as a threat.

“Nigerians should see through the gimmick of those who are behind the suit on the legality of the commission.

“We are really shocked by what is happening. Nigerians should see through this shenanigan and oppose it because I don’t see how this country can survive without the EFCC with the kind of corruption problem that we have in this country. Nigeria cannot do without the EFCC.”

EFCC was established December 12, 2002 following an act of national assembly under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has stated that the current economic hardship being witnessed in the nation cannot be attributed to the Tinubu-led administration.

Akpabio expressed this thought at the 2024 reunion of the UNICAL '87 Law Class over the weekend.

According to him, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in power, there is light at the end of the tunnel because his administration will leave behind lasting legacies that will guarantee the future of Nigerians.

“The difficulties we are witnessing in our nation today were not caused by the present administration. These are as a result of years of maladministration. Any country that does not have backbone infrastructure, you don’t have something to develop, you don’t save for the raining day, when there is economic malaise such as we are witnessing in the world today, such country is bound to be affected.

The good news is that under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we have hope today, that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The things that we are trying to do now, we are doing  for posterity. Not for ourselves. Be assured that this administration will leave behind lasting legacies that will guarantee a better future.”

The Lagos State Police Command has launched a manhunt for a 48-year-old man, Kadiri Yusuf alias Alado, over the alleged physical assault of two of his children in the Orile Agege area of Lagos.

The suspect is alleged to have inflicted grievous bodily injuries on his two children, aged 11 and 13 years.

NAN's City and Crime gathered that the incident was reported at the station by the teacher of one of the children.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the incident said around 5pm on Friday, October 18, the head teacher of a primary school in Orile Agege, reported that at about 7am of the same date, she found out that one of her pupils had wounds all over her body.

Hundeyin said the teacher further claimed that upon inquiry, the little girl of about 11 years, confided in her how her father, one Kadiri Yusuf alias Alado, used to beat her.

“The little girl also confided in her teacher that her father also beat up her elder brother whose age was also put at 13.

“The victims have been retrieved and treated. They have also been handed over to their sister for safe custody.

The suspect fled from home before the arrival of the police. Efforts are on to apprehend him,” he said.