The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has shed light on the recent arrest of popular crossdresser Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky.
Bobrisky was apprehended on Thursday night at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
He was allegedly trying to leave Nigeria for London amid ongoing bribery accusations.
Following his detention in Lagos, Bobrisky was subsequently moved to Abuja for further questioning.
EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, speaking with SaharaReporters on Friday, confirmed that Bobrisky was arrested after he failed to respond to a formal invitation from the Commission.
According to Oyewale, Bobrisky’s arrest is tied to an alleged bribery case, and the EFCC sought his cooperation to identify officials he claimed to have bribed.
The EFCC spokesman said, “We arrested him last night and we took him to Abuja because our team investigators are in Abuja.
“He was trying to run away from mentioning those he said collected bribe from him. We have sent him invitation but he refused to honour our invitation and he was trying to leave the country.
“This was why we arrested him. We want him to come and mention the names of the official involved in the bribery but he has not shown up.”
When asked if Bobrisky would face bribery charges, Oyewale indicated that no official decision had been made on that matter yet.
In a similar event earlier in October, Naija News reported another arrest of Bobrisky as he tried to escape to Benin Republic.
The popular crossdresser was taken into custody by Customs at the Seme border during a standard passport inspection, just hours before he was scheduled to testify before a Senate inquiry panel concerning multiple accusations.
The allegations arise from a circulated voice recording by social commentator Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, in which Bobrisky allegedly claimed he paid EFCC officials ₦15 million to have money laundering charges against him dropped.
Although the EFCC has refuted these claims, it has formed a committee to look into the allegations.
During a press conference on Thursday, the Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwajaren, indicated that Bobrisky might face additional charges from the commission if the allegations against the EFCC were proven to be false.
Uwajaren emphasized that an individual could be prosecuted for providing misleading information to the EFCC, especially for making baseless accusations against the commission.