bY: Lawal Halimat
The House of Representatives joint committee investigating the N15 million bribery allegations involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) has ordered the NCS to provide CCTV footage of social media personality Bobrisky’s prison stay. The directive came during an investigative hearing on Monday, where NCS officials detailed Bobrisky's transfer from the Medium Correctional Centre to the Maximum Correctional Centre in Ikoyi just ten days after his incarceration.
Deputy Controller General Michael Benson, overseeing the Medium Correctional Centre, provided explanations regarding the transfer. However, the committee, led by Chairman Ginger Onwusibe, expressed dissatisfaction and questioned the NCS about their practices regarding inmate donations. NCS representatives denied any tradition of receiving funds from inmates.
The investigation was prompted by a leaked audio recording suggesting that Bobrisky, whose real name is Idris Okuneye, paid the EFCC to dismiss money laundering charges against him. Bobrisky was sentenced to six months in prison for currency abuse but reportedly did not complete his sentence.
Notably absent from the hearing was Bobrisky himself, while fellow inmate Martins Vincent Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, attended and provided testimony. Initially reluctant to speak due to Bobrisky's absence, Otse eventually agreed to testify after committee members intervened. He presented various pieces of evidence, including voice recordings, chats, and bank transactions, to substantiate his claims regarding the bribery.
In parallel, the EFCC has launched an internal investigation into the bribery allegations, and the Minister of Interior has initiated a separate inquiry into Bobrisky's purported bribery of prison officials. As the investigation unfolds, the committee's demand for CCTV footage raises further questions about the circumstances surrounding Bobrisky's incarceration and the integrity of the institutions involved.
