Controversial Nigerian crossdresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, has refuted allegations of bribing officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
On Tuesday evening, prominent influencer Martins Vincent Otse, also referred to as VeryDarkMan, shared a voice recording purportedly featuring Bobrisky, in which he allegedly confessed to bribing EFCC officials with ₦15 million.
In the recording, Bobrisky purportedly stated that the ₦15 million was intended to persuade EFCC officials to dismiss the money laundering charges against him.
Additionally, the crossdresser asserted that he did not spend any time in prison following his conviction and subsequent six-month sentence.
OsunDailyNG reports that in April 2024, Bobrisky received a six-month jail term for naira mutilation. However, he claimed in the recording that his godfather arranged for him to serve his sentence in a lodge rather than in a traditional prison setting.
In response, Bobrisky labelled the widely circulated recording as fraudulent, maintaining that he served his prison sentence.
Taking to his Instagram page, Bobrisky wrote: “My attention has been drawn to a fake voice recording circulating on the internet that I paid EFCC 15 million naira and that I was never in prison.
“I didn’t pay any EFCC money; it is a very big lie. I served my term in full and I came out. Discard any false information.”
Meanwhile, the chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, has ordered an immediate investigation into allegations of bribery against some of its operatives in a case involving popular crossdresser, Idris Okuneye, better known as Bobrisky.
Olukoyede ordered the investigation following the allegation by VeryDarkMan that Bobrisky bribed some EFCC officials with the sum of ₦15,000,000 to drop the money laundering case against him and also keep him in a private apartment instead of a typical prison during his jail term for money laundering.
In reaction, the EFCC chairman, in a statement released on Tuesday through the spokesperson of the anti-graft agency, Dele Oyewale, said a team of investigators have been put together to investigate the allegations.
Oyewale added that both Bobrisky and VeryDarkMan have been invited to appear before the commission for questioning at its Lagos office.
The statement reads: “Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has ordered immediate investigation of alleged bribery allegations imputed to some officers of the Commission by Idris Okuneye (a.ka.Bobrisky) in a viral video circulating across the country.
“Okuneye, an ex-convict had alleged in the video powered by Martins Vincent Otse (a.k.a VeryDarkMan) that some unnamed officers of the EFCC collected the sum of N15,000,000 (Fifteen Million Naira) only from him to drop money laundering charges against him.
“In a swift reaction, the EFCC’s boss has constituted a team of Investigators to critically look into the allegations. To this end, the Commission hereby invites both Okuneye and Otse to make themselves available at its Lagos Directorate to assist investigators unearth the alleged bribery.”