“This girl bought first-class tickets three times; that’s over N30 million. Raise the bar for this girl.”
Controversial crossdresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, has finally left Nigeria after several unsuccessful attempts to travel abroad.
In October, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Bobrisky faced two arrests–one by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and another by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)–while attempting to flee Nigeria amid his ongoing legal troubles, which began in April 2024.
The NIS apprehended Bobrisky at the Seme border while he was allegedly trying to escape the country, and the anti-graft agency later removed him from an Amsterdam-bound KLM flight at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
However, on Monday, Bobrisky announced in a series of videos posted on his Instagram story that he had left Nigeria. He did not reveal his current location.
“See you soon, Nigeria,” he wrote.
N30 million tickets
Bobrisky also revealed that his arrest by NIS and EFCC cost him over N30 million.
He wrote: “This girl bought first-class tickets three times, over N30 million. Raise the bar for this girl. That passport disfigured my picture.”
In April, this newspaper reported that Bobrisky was sentenced to six months in prison by the Federal High Court in Lagos for Naira abuse.
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He was sent to Kirikiri Prison to serve the term and was released on 5 August with a noticeably refreshed appearance, sparking public speculation about his time in prison.
However, weeks after his release, social media influencer Martins ‘VeryDarkMan’ Otse leaked an audio recording alleging that Bobrisky only served three weeks in prison before being moved to a private location.
In the recording, Bobrisky allegedly claimed he paid a N15 million bribe to EFCC officials to drop money laundering charges against him.
He also purportedly stated that, with his godfather’s assistance, he bribed the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to complete his sentence in a private apartment.
In the recording, he further alleged that music artist Falz and his father, human rights lawyer Femi Falana, approached him during his imprisonment, requesting N10 million to secure a presidential pardon for him.
Reacting to the crossdresser’s allegations, Mr Falana issued a cease-and-desist letter, demanding a retraction and public apology for what he described as ‘defamatory statements.’
But Bobrisky denied the allegations, and asked the lawyer and his son to hold VeryDarkMan, who leaked the recording, responsible. He dismissed the recording as “fake” and vowed to sue VeryDarkMan.
Upon the leaked recording, an investigative panel was set up by the Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to look into the allegations against the NCoS.
Upon the investigation’s conclusion, the panel stated that there was no evidence that Bobrisky served any time outside the prison facility.
Bobrisky remains under investigation by the EFCC, NCoS, and a House of Representatives committee.
