….I am a man’ – Bobrisky admits in court, to serve jail term in Ikoyi Prison
….Who advised you to plead guilty – Aisha Yesufu queries Bobrisky
…Bobrisky’s real offence couldn’t have been spraying Naira at party — Sowore
…Bobrisky will be held in male cell and protected from sexual predators – NCoS
Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, April 12, 2024, sentenced Idris Okuneye, a.k.a Bobrisky, to six months imprisonment over mutilation of the Naira notes.
He was arraigned on Friday, April 5, 2024 on a four-count charge bordering on mutilation of the Naira notes to the tune of N490, 000, 00 (Four Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira).
Count one reads: “That you, OKUNEYE IDRIS OLANREWAJU, on the 24th day of March, 2024, at Imax Circle Mal, Jakande, Lekki, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with the total sum of N400,000.00 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira) notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”
Another count reads: “That you, OKUNEYE IDRIS OLANREWAJU, between July and August, 2023 at Aja Junction, Ikorodu, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with the sum N50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying same and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”
He pleaded “guilty” to the charges when they were read to him.
At the last sitting, the prosecution counsel, S.I. Sulaiman, urged the court to allow the investigating officer, ASE I Bolaji Temitope Aje, to give a brief review of the facts against him.
Aje narrated to the court that the EFCC received intelligence on some individuals, who are in the habit of mutilating and spraying the Naira notes at social parties and event centres in Lagos.
According to him, “Based on intelligence, the EFCC set up the Special Operations Team to observe and monitor activities of individuals, who are involved in the habit of mutilating the Naira.
“The team visited many event centres and monitored social media pages, where the Naira was being abused. During the course of the monitoring, the team came across videos on social media, where the defendant was seen abusing the Naira. The team then proceeded to download these videos via our office laptop computers and also went further to copy these videos on compact discs”.
“In the light of the foregoing, a letter of invitation was written and forwarded to the defendant.
“The defendant honoured the invitation. When he got to our office, he was voluntarily cautioned. Thereafter, he volunteered to write his statement”.
“The defendant was shown a video, where he was spraying money on an artiste called Segun Johnson. The defendant confessed that he was the one in the video. He was also shown a video at IMAX Circle Mall, where he sprayed a total sum of N400,000 at a movie premiere. The defendant also admitted that he was the one in the video and that he carried out the abuse”.
“The defendant was also shown two other videos of him spraying the Naira at Aja junction, Ikorodu, and White Stone Event Centre, Ikeja, Lagos .
“The defendant admitted to spraying money in these videos. He was, therefore, served with a bail condition.
Consequently, Sulaiman then prayed the court to convict and sentence the defendant accordingly.
Justice Awogboro had, thereafter, ruled that “upon the admission of guilt by the defendant, testimony of PW1 and following the evidence tendered, the defendant is declared guilty as charged.”
In his plea for mercy, Bobrisky said: “I am a social media influencer, with five million followers; and in all honesty, I was not aware of the law. I wish I can be given a second chance to use my platform to educate my followers against the abuse of the Naira.”
Also, his lawyer had said: “He will lead the crusade against the abuse of Naira. He is also an employer of people ; and if he goes to jail, the people he employs will suffer. He has cooperated with the EFCC and has not wasted the time of the court. We urge the court to caution the defendant and allow him to go. He has given evidence that he will be useful to the country. We urge you to grant a non-custodial sentencing option of fine.”
After listening to both parties, the Judge had deferred judgment in the matter to Tuesday, April 9, 2024 and also ordered that he be remanded in the EFCC custody.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Awogboro held that “ The act of mutilating the Naira notes has become a menace, which has continued to damage the image of the country…
“Enough of people mutilating and tampering with our currencies. It has to stop. His will serve as a deterrent to others.”
The Judge, therefore, sentenced him to six months imprisonment, without an option of fine, from the date of his remand
‘I am a man’ – Bobrisky admits in court, to serve jail term in Ikoyi Prison
Controversial social media personality and cross-dresser, Idris Olanrewaju Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, admitted to being a man before he was sentenced to prison.
Salient Times reports that Bobrisky was sentenced to six months imprisonment without an option of fine for abusing the Nigerian currency, the Naira.
Before the sentence was pronounced, the Judge asked Bobrisky about his sex, “I am a man,” he quickly replied.
He was then remanded to serve his jail term at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, with the judge ruling that the sentence would commence from March 24, 2024, the day of his arrest.
Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos, who handed down the sentence, stated that it was necessary to deter others from similar acts of abuse and mutilation of the Naira.
Recall that Bobrisky was convicted on April 5 after pleading guilty to a four-count charge of naira abuse brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The counts included incidents where Bobrisky was accused of tampering with N400,000 at Imax Circle Mall in Jakande, Lekki; N50,000 at Aja Junction in Ikorodu; N20,000 at White Steve Event Hall in Ikeja; and another N20,000 at an event hall in Oniru, Victoria Island, all between 2022 and 2023.
Bobrisky’s real offence couldn’t have been spraying Naira at party — Sowore
Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 general elections, Omoyele Sowore said spraying of the Naira notes could not have been the offence of controversial transgender, Idris Okuneye, a.k.a Bobrisky.
Sowore stated this in a statement via his Facebook page on Friday.
Recall that Bobrisky was handed six-month jail term over mutilation of the Naira currency by a Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday.
Reacting to the development, Sowore said the energy exerted into the prosecution and jailing of Bobrisky by EFCC, showed that his real offence could not have been spraying Naira at a party.
He said the “real destroyers of the nation’s economy and currency” were yet to be jailed for their crimes against Nigeria.
The activist said it’s left to be seen how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC will handle the cases involving ‘real financial criminals’ being prosecuted since 2007.
Sowore stated, “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is gleefully announcing that Bobrisky has been jailed for six months without an option of a fine for “mutilating” the Nigerian currency, the Naira.
“The real people destroying the economy are yet to be jailed for the massive economic damage they did to ruin Nigeria.
“The energy put into prosecuting and jailing a crossdresser, Bobrisky, shows his real offence could not have been spraying Naira at a party.
“Let’s see how the EFCC handles cases involving real financial criminals, a long list being prosecuted since 2007-who destroyed the naira in the near future. #RevolutionNow,” he said.
Who advised you to plead guilty – Aisha Yesufu queries Bobrisky
Aisha Yesufu, a popular social activist has blamed popular crossdresser, Bobrisky for pleading guilty to the count of naira mutilation.
On Friday, Justice Abimbola Awogboro handed down a six-month sentence without the option of a fine.
The controversial celebrity has been in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, since his arrest last week.
EFCC had arrested and prosecuted Bobrisky for naira mutilation.
Bobrisky had, earlier on April 5, pleaded guilty to a four-count charge of naira abuse brought against him by the anti-graft agency.
“Who advised him to plead guilty?” Aisha queries in a write up on X.
“How does spraying of money equate to mutilating money? If it is and a crime why is it selectively used?
‘Yes, I would have. Worse case scenario I would ask him to plead “No Contest.” Anything else Oga lawyer?
“If spraying money is mutilation, what is politicians throwing money at people?
“Mutilation and spraying money how are they the same? Did Bobrisky pick a scissors and started shredding the NAIRA?
“We just have a jungle where anything goes because some people’s morality is offended.
“If Bobrisky has crimes he has committed, prosecute him on those and not these selective prosecution.
Bobrisky will be held in male cell and protected from sexual predators – NCoS
The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has said that Idris Okuneye, aka Bobriksy, will be kept in a male cell after he was sentenced to 6 months in jail for Naira mutilation.
A spokesperson for the Correctional Service in Lagos noted that the crossdresser identified as a male when being questioned in court, which influenced their decision to place him in a male-designated facility.
Bobrisky has continuously insisted that he identifies as female and claims he has undergone gender reassignment surgery. This led to concerns about his safety in jail due to his gender preference.
Reacting, correctional officers assured that Bobrisky would be adequately protected from potential harm. According to the spokesperson, the decision to put Bobrisky in a male cell is to protect him from sexual predators.
“Since he admitted to being a male in court, then we have to abide by what was submitted in court. He shouldn’t be afraid of sexual assault from other male inmates because our men can give him protection,” the spokesperson said
