EFCC chair Ola Olukoyede says the commission will investigate crossdresser Idris ‘Bobrisky’ Okuneye’s claim of bribing agents with N15 million to drop money-laundering charges levelled against him earlier this year to lighten his sentence.
Mr Okuneye, an ex-convict who recently completed a six-month jail term, was charged to court in March for money laundering and naira abuse allegations, but as the case progressed, the money-laundering charge was dropped.
Social activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly called VeryDarkMan, said the withdrawal of the charge came with a price tag, specifically, N15 million.
Mr Otse leaked a WhatsApp phone call where a voice similar to Mr Okuneye’s admitted giving N15 million to EFCC operatives in exchange for dropping the money laundering charge, which, if pursued, would have attracted a stiffer penalty.
The voice explained that his award for ‘Best Dressed Female’ attracted the ire of his adversaries, who set him up using EFCC, a government commission that fights financial crimes.
The voice, which sounded like Bobrisky’s, further explained that he sought advice from the anti-corruption operatives on how to circumvent the weighty charge and was told to pay N15 million.
“So when they charged me to court, we had to beg them that if they want to remove the money laundering how much will they collect,” the voice said. “They said we should bring N15 million that they will remove the money laundering.”
The screenshot of the call, which had Bobrisky’s picture on the WhatsApp profile, alleged that he rallied his close friends to send the money to his brother’s account, which he then forwarded to some EFCC operatives.
The voice said that given he was under investigation with an active court case, his account had been frozen and, thus, inaccessible.
EFCC chair on Tuesday assured the allegations would be “immediately” investigated to determine the truth and invited Messrs Otse and Okuneye to the commission’s Lagos office.
“In a swift reaction, the EFCC’s boss has constituted a team of Investigators to critically look into the allegations,” EFCC’s spokesperson Dele Oyewale said in a statement on Tuesday. “To this end, the commission hereby invites both Okuneye and Otse to make themselves available at its Lagos Directorate to assist investigators unearth the alleged bribery.”
The statement added, “The EFCC wishes to assure the public that the allegations would be thoroughly investigated and the result of the findings made public accordingly.”
