Claims that the popular cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, has been moved from the Ikoyi custodial center to its other facility in Kirikiri have been debunked by the Nigeria Correctional Service, Lagos State

Bobrosky, who was handed a six-month prison sentence over abuse of the naira notes, was reported to have been discreetly transferred to Kirikiri Prison last weekend, where he was expected to complete his term.

According to the PUNCH, An NCoS official who pleaded anonymity as he was not permitted to speak on Thursday said he was still held in the Ikoyi prison.

The official said the convict did not commit a capital offense to warrant his transfer to a maximum prison where inmates serving life and death sentences were mainly kept.

The source said, “Bobrisky has not been moved; he is still here in Ikoyi. He was not sentenced to death and didn’t get a life sentence either. Those people sentenced to death and given life sentences are mostly kept in the maximum prison. That is mostly based on capital punishment. As for Bobrisky, he didn’t commit a capital offense, so why would they take him to Kirikiri.”

In the same vein, another official who also preferred not to be mentioned as he was not in the official capacity to speak to the press said that although there were plans to move some inmates across the custodial centers in the state, it was still being proposed.

The NCoS official added that the move was for decongestion.

“Sometimes, when we discover that the population of inmates is much in a facility, we decide to move them just to decongest. We are only considering that now and not that anyone has been moved. If the prison authorities want to move, they have the right. We also do so if the person has a communicable disease or because the inmate requested it for proximity to the family or an appeal on humanitarian grounds.

“The leadership might also say, ‘Let’s spread those who have less than one year sentence,’ which may apply to Bobrisky, to create space for those awaiting trial. But such people rarely go to the maximum prison,” the source disclosed.

Bobrisky was convicted by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Friday, April 5, 2024, after pleading guilty to the charges of naira abuse leveled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

It was added that the convicted crossdresser had been observing the rules and procedures obtained in the facility.