A Nigerian investigative panel has dismissed allegations that transgender socialite Bobrisky, sentenced to six months in prison for misusing the national currency, was living in a flat outside the prison and had not served her full term, but found she received other special privileges.
Bobrisky, real name Idris Okuneye, was allowed regular visits from family and friends, had a furnished single room, a humidifier, access to television, a refrigerator and even a telephone, the report said.
She was sent to a men’s prison for ‘naira abuse’ after throwing currency notes around at a movie premiere in April.
The court dismissed the money laundering charge.
The panel was set up by the Interior Ministry to investigate bribery claims by social media influencer Martins Otse, commonly known as VeryDarkMan, who said officials were bribed to drop money laundering charges against Bobrisky , who denied this.
Two senior prison officials were suspended last month over the allegations.
The panel, set up by the Home Office, said it should conduct further investigations to determine whether the privileges granted to Bobrisky were “financially motivated and based on corrupt practices of correctional officers”.
The panel added that sending Bobrisky, a first-time offender, to a maximum security facility was a violation of Nigeria’s Correctional Service Act.
Throwing money in the air or ‘spraying’ is often done at Nigerian weddings and other celebrations.
This is technically a violation as the notes then fall to the ground where they can be trampled on. The maximum penalty is six months in prison, but prosecutions were rare until this year.
Following her release in August, a viral video from someone claiming to be Bobrisky is heard claiming that she paid $9,000 (£7,000) to EFCC officials to have money laundering charges dropped, prompting was for the research.
It was also alleged that she paid millions of naira to get a flat near the prison where she had allegedly served her jail term.
Bobrisky, who has almost five million followers on Instagram, denied it was her voice in the recordings.
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