More details have emerged on how embattled crossdresser, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky spent his six-month jail term.
According to a report by The Punch, Bobrisky was taken to Ikoyi Custodial Centre on April 12, 2024 after he was convicted for naira mutilation.
Sources who spoke to the aforementioned publication disclosed that the convict, who had prison number S682/2024, was taken to the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kirikiri, as his presence began to attract attention and generate publicity.
A highly credible source said, “He was first moved to the Ikoyi prison where he spent a few days before the controller, Ben-Rabbi Freedman, moved him to the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kirikiri.”
Another top source confirmed Bobrisky’s movement from the Ikoyi facility to the Medium Security Custodial Centre, adding that he spent some days there before he was again moved to the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, Kirikiri.
The source explained that he was visited by some relatives in the prison, adding that there was a record of all his activities.
“Many people visited him in the place, including three family members. Those people followed due process and that was why they were able to see and visit him. I also saw him in the prison. He looked gentle and sober,” the source added.
The report disclosed that there was usually provision for some inmates considered to be “Very Important Persons” who might be at risk if allowed to mingle with other inmates.
“The place is like a back cell or a single cell originally reserved for well-behaved inmates. This is in accordance with prison rules. They are put there to compensate for their good behaviour.
“However, when warders bring in certain people, they are taken there. They live whichever way they want. Some of the inmates furnish the place to their taste,” the source stated.
Asked the cost of using the room, the source noted that such was usually determined by the officer in charge of the centre.
“They collect huge sums of money from them, depending on the kind of inmates they have. When you saw the fight between operatives of the DSS and prison service for (Godwin) Emefiele on the court premises, what did you think was the reason? It’s because of the benefits that come with having such a person in custody,” the source added.
The source noted that Bobrisky might have been put in the “special cell” during his time in the Kirikiri prison.
Another source, who confirmed the existence of such an arrangement, said negotiations usually start from the court between inmates and prison officials.
The source said the correctional service knew what it wanted to do, hence Bobrisky was allegedly shielded from inmates when he was admitted.
He said, “Inmates who saw him at the medium prison before he was moved to maximum prison were not many. It was all planned.”
However, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Abubakar Umar, denied the report that there was preferential treatment for VIP convicts.
“We are not aware of such. They are alien to us. However, that information will be investigated. All inmates are given the same treatment. We don’t have any preferential treatment for anybody,” he insisted.