Social media influencer Mr. Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan, along with his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, is currently at the National Assembly Complex to participate in the joint committee’s investigation into allegations of corruption against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS).
This follows accusations made by controversial cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, who was convicted and sentenced to prison for naira abuse in April. Bobrisky alleged that the EFCC and NCS demanded bribes from him to allow him to serve his sentence in the VIP section of the Kirikiri Medium Custodial Centre in Lagos.
The situation escalated after VeryDarkMan shared a voice note in which Bobrisky claimed that following his conviction, his godfather, in collaboration with the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, arranged for him to serve his six-month sentence in a private apartment.
“In another related development, the board equally suspended another senior officer of the Service, Iloafonsi Kevin Ikechukwu, Deputy Controller of Corrections, In-Charge of Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, Abuja, for allegedly receiving money on behalf of an inmate,” the memo added.
Ahmed, however, said their suspension was to allow proper investigation into the allegations against them “while assuring that the outcome would be made public when concluded.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday, September 26, the House of Representatives resolved to investigate the bribery allegations made against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) by VeryDarkMan.
This resolution came after the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance, sponsored by Patrick Umoh, the representative for Ikot Ekpene/Essien Udim/Obot Akara Federal Constituency in Akwa Ibom State.
In his address to fellow lawmakers, Umoh expressed concern over the widely circulated claims made by VeryDarkMan against the EFCC and the NCS.
He said, “The publication alleges that the EFCC dropped money laundry charges against Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, upon collection of the sum of N15,000,000.
“The publication alleges that Idris Okuneye, upon conviction for abuse and defacing of the naira, by the court, did not serve his time at the Nigeria Correctional Service, but was lodged outside the confines of the service.
“We are disturbed about the damning allegations against Nigerian critical law enforcement agencies, the EFCC and the NCS, established by this hallowed chambers to fight corruption and incarcerate persons convicted of crimes for correctional purposes respectively.”
He added that the negative image and portrayal of Nigeria as a corrupt nation in the publication should not be swept under the carpet.
Following the adoption of the motion, the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, who presided over the plenary session, referred the motion to the Committees on Financial Crimes and Reformatory Institutions.
