Prison experts have clarified why Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, was separated from other inmates at the correctional center, while refuting claims of a special VIP section.
During a live TV program on Friday, Bishop Kayode Williams, the Director General of the Prison Rehabilitation Mission, explained that the separation of inmates is based on their individual needs and categories, including considerations for security, health, and personal safety. He emphasized that these accommodations are standard in correctional facilities to ensure the well-being of all inmates, regardless of their status or public profile, and do not imply the existence of a VIP section.
He said, “There are accommodations for condemned prisoners, those sentenced to death, who must not mingle with other inmates. The second accommodation is convicted inmates, who are the owners of the prison.”
Addressing Bobrisky’s situation, Williams added, “The accommodation that is provided for males, are they going to bring Idris with his transgender body /look 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 there are homosexual inmates who would be willing to take things to extreme lengths.”
Former National PRO of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Francis Enobore, corroborated Williams’ comments, explaining that the service profiles each inmate for both their safety and the general prison environment.
“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 is not taken, we will have a very serious security situation on our hands,” he said.
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.”
Controversy around Bobrisky’s incarceration began earlier in the week after Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, shared a voice note in which Bobrisky allegedly claimed that following his conviction for abuse of naira notes in April, his godfather, along with the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, arranged for him to serve his six-month sentence in a private apartment.
Meanwhile, the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board announced on Thursday the suspension of two deputy controllers in charge of the Kirikiri Medium Custodial Centre in Lagos, in connection to Bobrisky’s alleged bribery claims.
