October 06, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) said on Sunday, that the investigation into alleged infractions surrounding the protective custody of convicted cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, is ongoing.
Deputy Controller of Corrections (DCC) and Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO), Abubakar Umar, made this known in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Sunday in Abuja.
THEWILL earlier reported that a Joint Committee of the National Assembly had summoned the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede; Minister of Interior Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; Bobrisky and VeryDarkMan (VDM), to appear before it over the bribery scandal involving officers of the EFCC and Correctional Service following a recorded conversation involving Bobrisky that was leaked on social media by blogger Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan.
The allegation of bribery against the anti-graft agency and the Nigerian Correctional Service, followed a trending social media voice conversation involving Bobrisky.
The audio captured Bobrisky, who was convicted of Naira abuse, allegedly saying he paid N15 million to unnamed EFCC officials to drop charges of money laundering preferred against him and that he served his six-month sentence in a VIP facility instead of the Kirikiri Medium Custodial Centre in Lagos.
Following the revelations, the EFCC Chairman and Minister of Interior Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, ordered an investigation, which led to the suspension of two senior officers of the NCoS.
Speaking on Sunday, Umar said inmates undergo comprehensive assessments to determine security risks, needs and responsivity issues when brought to custodial centres. According to him, the admission board evaluates each inmate to ensure safe housing and effective rehabilitation.
He outlined the service’s rigorous admission process for inmates, emphasising that adherence to human rights principles through the approach was also paramount.
Umar said, “Upon conviction of every offender from the court, either awaiting trial or convicted, once they are brought to our facility, there is a process they go through before and during admission.
“Let me say during admission, there is what we call an admission board, which comprises the officer in charge, the second in command, the medical officer in charge of the custodial centre, the recording officer and other relevant officers. They will go through the information contained in the warrants, and before he is allocated a cell, there is what we call determination of security.
“Determination of security refers to one’s risk assessment, the person’s risk of self-harm and the safety of other inmates and officers. We also have what we call needs assessment, which focuses on criminogenic need areas. These are behaviors that may cause criminal behavior and other criminological needs. These are the things that we look into before an inmate is allocated a cell.
“Furthermore, we also look at what we refer to as responsivity issues. There are things that can affect his participation in intervention or make it difficult for him to adjust to custodial life. So, having worked all this in, it will then be determined which cell such inmates will be allocated to.”
According to Umar, during Bobrisky’s court appearance and subsequent admission to our facility, he was asked to declare his gender and he identified himself as male, but do not forget that some other features are on him.
He added that “because of that determination, I mean what I refer to as classification and also the determination of security of the custodial centre, he was given an appropriate cell where he was kept. This is to also ensure that he is not under threat within our custodial centres and is kept safe as well.
“Well, one thing I want to say here is that the Minister of the Interior has set up a committee to investigate the alleged situation of Bobrisky staying outside our custodial centre. So until the determination of such or the outcome of such investigations, I think we should let it rest.
“I am only telling you that once an inmate or people are convicted or are brought to our custodial centres, we have a standard of treatment for them during admission. They will be put through checks and these checks guide us on the determination of the security of such a person both to the person and to the custodial centre.
“But as to whether he was kept in our custodial facilities or he was kept outside the facility, until the determination of the outcome of the investigation on the allegations, I won’t be able to speak further on that.”
