The outcome of the inquiry should be made public, and culprits duly punished
Following allegations that controversial cross dresser Idris Okuneye, aka Bobrisky may have bribed his way to serve a recent six-month prison sentence in a private apartment, some officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) have been suspended by the federal government. The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has directed a special investigative team headed by the Permanent Secretary, Magdalene Ajani, to probe the allegations. While allegations of bribery and compromise of critical agencies of government may not be new in the country, helping convicts to evade justice is a serious crime. Therefore, the current investigation should not be another cosmetic exercise that features a few scapegoats while the lucrative system that enables such malpractices and makes nonsense of the principles of incarceration and judicial punishment remains unchecked.
We must recall that Bobrisky was arrested in April on six counts of money laundering and Naira mutilation. During his trial at the Federal High Court in Lagos, Justice Abimbola Awogboro dismissed the money laundering charges and sentenced Bobrisky to six months in prison for Naira abuse, without the option of a fine. On 5th August, Bobrisky regained freedom after completing the sentence. But in a leaked audio by a social media influencer, Bobrisky alleged that some unnamed operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) collected N15 million from him to drop his money laundering charges. He also alleged that he served his prison sentence in a private apartment after his godfather contacted the NCoS Comptroller General, and that some lawyers have promised to secure for him a presidential pardon.
We join the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in calling for a thorough investigation of all the issues involved in this scandal. "The suggestion that convicts can freely serve their time in private residences and potentially procure a pardon by paying a bribe undermines the very foundation of our criminal justice system and erodes public confidence in the system," said NBA president, Afam Osigwe, SAN. "If these allegations are found to be true, it would not only mock our correctional system but also serve as a wake-up call for necessary reforms in our prosecutorial and correctional processes. The NBA shall appoint eminent members of the legal profession to monitor this situation and ensure that due process is followed."
We endorse the stance of the NBA while we call on the federal government to be transparent in dealing with what has become a recurring scandal. In 2005-2006 in the Lagos area, 197 people convicted of drug trafficking and jailed were alleged to have simply 'disappeared' while the report of the Justice Gilbert Obayan committee which exposed the judicial racketeering was ignored by the federal government. In recent years, there have also been reports that NCoS officials routinely allow criminals to escape court verdicts through various dubious methods, including swapping real convicts for innocent people who are paid to serve their terms. Some prominent Nigerians have also been known to have fathered children at a period they were supposed to be in prison.
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In the wake of the scandal, the House of Representatives has commenced investigation in line with its oversight responsibility. Its committee has already summoned the EFCC Chairman, NCoS Comptroller General, the social media influencer who broke the story, Bobrisky, and all other actors. Both the EFCC and NCoS have also instituted internal investigations on the matter. While these moves are not bad in themselves, they must not be used to scuttle the exercise as was the case in the past. Since Bobrisky scandal provides another opportunity for a holistic reform of our criminal justice administration, we also hope that the probes will examine all the critical challenges, including why the prison system that reforms inmates in other countries hardens them in Nigeria.
Custodians of our correctional facilities have the primary duty of keeping convicts inside the available prison spaces. Any violation of this duty is a crime and should attract disciplinary penalty. Convicts who connive with officialdom to thwart the punitive intent of imprisonment are equally culpable. If found guilty, Bobrisky should return to serve his term in real prison in addition to facing other charges of corruption.
