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Inmates’ rights activist and Director General of the Prison Rehabilitation Mission, Bishop Kayode Williams, has suggested a possible reason why convicted cross-dresser, Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, may have been kept outside the designated Custodial Centre where he was supposed to serve his sentence. This comes as the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, vowed to punish any officials found guilty in the case.
The allegations claim that Bobrisky, sentenced to six months in prison, was allegedly given accommodation outside the custodial facility. In response, the Federal Government has suspended two senior officers of the Correctional Service: Michael Anugwa, Deputy Controller of Corrections (DCC) in charge of the Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC) in Kirikiri, Lagos, and Sikiru Adekunle, Deputy Controller of Corrections in charge of the Maximum Security Custodial Centre in the same location.
Williams, speaking on a breakfast show on Arise Television, monitored Friday in Abuja, explained that Bobrisky’s case required special accommodations due to his appearance. His views were supported by former National Public Relations Officer of the Service, Controller Francis Enobore (retd).
“There are accommodations for condemned prisoners, those sentenced to death, who must not mingle with other inmates. The second accommodation is for convicted inmates, who are the owners of the prison. The accommodation that is provided for males, are they going to bring Idris with his transgender body/looks to go and sleep in the general cell? The first thing they do is decide how to treat someone like that.”
“They provided him a special place for protective custody because, with his appearance, he would be in danger. He looks like a woman, moves like a woman, and some homosexual inmates would be willing to take things to extreme lengths.”
Enobore also remarked, “Yes, he confessed in court that he is a man but he came in bodily showing that he is a woman. Some of the people behind bars are unrepentant homosexuals. There is no doubt that if care was not taken, we would have a very serious security situation on our hands.”
During a media briefing in Abuja on Friday, Minister of Interior Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo emphasized that the suspension of the Correctional Service officers was to ensure an unbiased investigation.
“We will not spare anybody no matter how highly placed. Let’s be patient. Investigation is on but let’s be assured that nobody will be shielded and nobody will be protected,” the Minister stressed.
However, Enobore refuted claims of Bobrisky being given a private section, stating, “There’s no such thing as a private apartment or anything special in the prison.”
This comes amid controversies surrounding Bobrisky’s incarceration after a voice note was released in which Bobrisky purportedly stated that he was not in prison following his conviction for abuse of naira notes in April.
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In the voice note, the person alleged to be Bobrisky claims that his godfather and the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service arranged for him to serve his six-month sentence in a private apartment.
Consequently, the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board announced on Thursday, September 26, the suspension of two deputy controllers in charge of the Kirikiri Medium Custodial Centre in Lagos, in connection to Bobrisky’s alleged bribery claims.
This article was sourced from Vanguard
