Bobrisky: CASER petitions ICPC

As the controversy between crossdresser Idris Okuneye, widely known as Bobrisky, and social media influencer and blogger, Martins Otse (popularly known as VeryDarkMan, @thatverydarkman), rages over bribery allegations involving top government officials, the Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER) has petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter.

The civil society organisation stated that it made the petition in the public interest, stressing that the anti-graft agency is the appropriate body to investigate claims made in the audio recording of Bobrisky, as released by VeryDarkMan.

The controversial blogger had, in viral videos, alleged that some officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) collected N15 million from Bobrisky to drop money laundering charges against him during his naira-spraying ordeal in April this year.

The blogger also alleged that Bobrisky paid several million naira to a senior lawyer and spent time in a VIP facility instead of prison during his six-month jail term over naira abuse.

These allegations have led the Federal Government to suspend some senior officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), while the EFCC has ordered an immediate investigation into the matter.

However, the controversial crossdresser, Bobrisky, described the audio recording as fake and AI-generated.

In a petition dated September 30, 2024, and addressed to the Chairman of ICPC, Executive Director of CASER, Frank Tietie, called for an independent, impartial, and consequential criminal investigation into the authenticity of the audio recording.

According to Tietie, an Abuja-based legal practitioner, only an independent and impartial anti-corruption agency like the Commission can get to the root of the issues and “chart a path of national recovery from the social decadence that the contents of the viral audio recording have typified.”

He added: “So much furore has been generated after the publication of the audio recording by VeryDarkMan, and the Federal Government has taken many consequential actions, and the whole world is watching.

“To think that the entire episode would be swept under the carpet of a particular way of doing things in Nigeria would not be in our collective interest as a people and country.

“Consequently, we consider it most pertinent at this time in our national life that concerted efforts be made to reverse the pervasive trend of corruption. If allowed to overtake justice delivery, there might be no hope for a socially and economically stable Nigeria, now and in the future.”