Lagos Monarch Exposes How Bobrisky Paid ₦35 Million To Get Special Treatment In Kirikiri Prison

A traditional leader in Lagos, Chief Babalola Shabi, the Baale of Kirikiri Town, has accused the Nigerian Correctional Service officials of facilitating an alleged bribery scheme that allowed social media personality and crossdresser, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, to receive special treatment while incarcerated.

Naijaonpoint reports that the new controversy emerged many months after Bobrisky regained freedom from the Kirikiri prison.

Speaking during a town hall meeting hosted by the Lagos State Police Command on Saturday, which was part of the National Police Week celebrations, Chief Shabi, who is also known as “Baale No-Nonsense,” claimed that Bobrisky managed to bring eight Automated Teller Machine (ATMs) cards into the Kirikiri correctional facility.

He allegedly used these cards to transfer a total of ₦35 million through local Point of Sale operators, purportedly to bribe prison officials for preferential treatment.

Shabi disclosed this information during a town hall meeting hosted by the Lagos State Police Command on Saturday, which was part of the National Police Week celebrations.

He asserted that the crossdresser did not serve his full sentence in prison but was instead kept in a private apartment outside the facility, allegedly arranged by corrupt correctional staff.

He said, “Before the truth came out, everyone believed he was in Kirikiri serving his time. But the reality is that Bobrisky was living comfortably outside the prison walls, thanks to a criminal collaboration involving some officials.”

Shabi stated that it was through his intervention that the scandal was unearthed, adding that he had invited all POS operators in the community to his palace, after which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission swooped in on the matter.

“I personally called in the EFCC after I summoned the POS operators to my palace. From there, they were able to trace the transactions and decode the money trail,” he said.

The traditional leader clarified that the secretive scheme entailed correctional officers contacting POS vendors to extract money from the crossdresser’s ATM cards.

He noted that the simplicity of obtaining the cash suggested a highly coordinated network of accomplices.

“It was shocking how ₦35 million could be sourced from around here so quickly. Clearly, this was not a one-man job. The officials who aided him have been suspended,” Shabi said, adding that the property where Bobrisky was allegedly kept during the period had since been identified and demolished and that both the Department of State Services (DSS) and EFCC had interrogated him over the incident.

“The DSS first invited me for questioning, and I told them everything I knew. The EFCC also reached out, and I gave them my full cooperation. As a community leader, I cannot allow this type of impunity to go unchecked,” he said.

Naijaonpoint reports that the Lagos traditional’s statement conflicts with a previous report issued by a National Assembly committee, which indicated that although Bobrisky received special treatment, he stayed within the prison grounds for the entirety of his sentence.