The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has demanded an independent probe into the bribery allegation made by the controversial cross-dresser, Idris Okuneye aka Bobrisky, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives.
Bobrisky, who was released from prison a few weeks ago after serving a six-month jail term for abuse of the naira, had in a video shown by a blogger, Martins Otse aka VeryDarkMan, alleged that some EFCC officers demanded ₦15 million to drop the money laundering charges against him.
The commission’s chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had since set up a team of investigators to look into the allegation.
In a statement on Wednesday, the NBA President, Afam Osigwe, urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Nuhu Ribadu, to conduct an independent investigation into the allegation against the EFCC operatives.
He demanded the dismissal and prosecution of EFCC officers found culpable at the end of the investigation.
The statement read: “The allegation of bribery to reduce or drop charges is very disturbing. An urgent and thorough investigation is needed to determine whether bribes were paid or are sometimes paid to influence the nature of charges brought against defendants in criminal cases.
“The NBA therefore demands that the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) not only respond to the allegation that Bobrisky did not serve his time in a correctional facility but also provide transparent details on the conditions under which Bobrisky served his sentence.
“If it is proven that he was allowed to serve his sentence outside a Correctional Facility, in breach of the law and a court order, the officers and officials responsible must be prosecuted and dismissed from service.
“We also call upon the Attorney-General of the Federation, EFCC, and the Office of the National Security Adviser to independently investigate allegations that a convict paid a bribe to be allowed to serve prison time in a private residence instead of in a Correctional Facility, as well as the allegation that a bribe was demanded in exchange for a government pardon.
“The suggestion that convicts can freely serve their time in private residences and potentially procure a pardon by paying a bribe undermines the very foundation of our criminal justice system and erodes public confidence in the system.”
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