Interior Minister Sets Up Investigative Panel To Unravel Bribery Allegation Against Prison Official, By Bobrisky

By Ayodele Oni

• NBA worried, asks NSA, AGF, to take over investigation.

• Falana issues 24-hour ultimatum to VDM or …

Reactions like claps of thunder have greeted the purported claims made by Idris Okuneye, popular as Bobrisky that officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission took a-N15m bribe from him to drop the money laundering charges against him. Bobrisky was arrested, prosecuted by the EFCC and sentenced to a six-month jail term.

But in the purported video-note, one of the claims he allegedly made was that he served his jail time in an apartment close to the prisons where she had access to anything he wanted. He had that privilege by allegedly bribing prison officials.

Another allegation he made was that Folarin Falana, popular as FALZ, the Lawyer- musician-son of Femi Falana, SAN, arranged for him to be set free before his prison time expired, and through his father, the SAN, was arranging for a Presidential pardon for him at a cost of N10million.

Bobrisky allegedly made these very serious claims/allegations when he spoke on phone to a blogger, Martins Vincent Otse, popular as VeryDarkMan, VDM. It was VDM who, on the prompting of Musician Seun Kuti, made public Bobrisky’s alleged claims on instagram.

Since then, the post has gone viral, and has been met with  shock and disbelief.

The Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, has set up an Investigative Panel to unravel whether his officers were culpable or not.

The Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, through its President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, has written a strongly worded letter to both the National Security Adviser, NSA, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, expressed its outrage, and asked that both offices set up an independent investigation panel to unravel the veracity of Bobrisky’s claims. The NBA said that while it appreciated the quick action taken by the EFCC Boss in setting up a Panel to investigate the allegations, it insists on an independent panel  from the offices of the NSA and the AGF.

Falz in his reaction has written to VDM and issued a 24-hour ultimatum  to him to apologize and retract what he dismissed as wicked lies and defamatory allegations against him. He would proceed with a legal action, otherwise.

His father, Falana, SAN, has strongly distanced himself from the allegations.

One of the people at the centre of this scandal, Bobrisky, has denied making any such voice note and dismissed it as fake. He said his voice was faked, and emphasized that not only did he serve his time inside the prison cell, but that he served it out.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in response, has directed an unconditional and comprehensive investigation into the allegations of bribery and corruption within the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).

This was disclosed in a statement signed by his Media Aide, Babatunde Alao, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Tunji-Ojo unequivocally condemned the alleged reprehensible behaviour, emphasizing that any form of indiscipline, unprofessionalis, and corruption in the Service would be met with zero tolerance and severe consequences.

”The Ministry will not tolerate any compromise on its core values of integrity, transparency, and accountability.

“We will leave no stone unturned in rooting out corruption and ensuring that those found culpable face the full wrath of the law.

“The Minister has called for a special investigative team headed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, to probe these allegations and submit a comprehensive report.

“The Minister reassured the public that the investigation would be rigorous, transparent, and impartial, adding that appropriate disciplinary actions would be taken against any personnel found guilty.”

Bobrisky, has since reacted to the viral voice recording in an Instagram post on

Bobrisky was released from the Kirikiri Correctional Centre on August 5, 2024,  after six months in custody.

A Federal High Court in Lagos had jailed him in April with no option of  fine following his guilty plea to the Naira abuse charge preferred against him by the EFCC.