Nairobi News

Controversial and popular Nigerian transgender socialite Idris ‘Bobrisky’ Okuneye had been living a life of luxury while serving his jail term, an investigative panel has found.
Bobrisky was sentenced to six months in prison in April this year for abusing  Nigerian currency. The socialite pleaded guilty to charges of ‘tampering’ with naira notes by spraying them at a social event and was convicted.
Following his conviction, claims emerged that Bobrisky, who has since completed her jail term, was instead living in a luxurious apartment outside the prison and had not served his full sentence.
A commission of inquiry was set up to investigate the matter, which included allegations of money laundering.
The panel has now dismissed the allegations that the transgender socialite lived in a nearby apartment instead of in prison while serving his sentence.
However, the panel found that the cross-dresser, who is known to flaunt an opulent lifestyle on social media, received other special privileges while he was behind bars.
The panel found that Bobrisky, who has a cult following on social media with over five million followers on Instagram and 3.1 million on Facebook, was allowed frequent visits from family and friends, had a furnished single cell, a humidifier, access to a television, a refrigerator, and even a phone, according to the panel’s report.
But that’s not all, the panel also found that Bobrisky had designated inmates to run errands for him while he was in prison.
The findings of the panel set up by the Minister of Interior, Olubuni Tunji-Ojo, were part of a larger set of luxurious conditions that Bobrisky reportedly enjoyed during his incarceration in both medium and maximum security prisons.
The findings were disclosed on Monday in Abuja by a member of the panel, Uju Agomoh while presenting the report to the ministry.
“The panel also found that Mr. Okuneye Idris enjoyed several privileges while in custody…particularly the following: furnished single cells, humidifier, many visits from his family members and friends as he desired, self-feeding, designated inmates to run errands for him, access to fridge and television and possibly access to his telephone,” Agomoh stated.
Agomoh added that there was a need to investigate whether the privileges granted to Bobrisky were financially motivated and based on corrupt practices by prison officers.”
The panel believes that the peculiar case of the inmate and the inmate’s physical look and behavior pose a threat and the lack of laid down rules for the treatment of such a case may have necessitated such privileges to be granted to Okuneye Idris,”.