The Ministry will not tolerate any compromise on its core values of integrity, transparency, and accountability.”
By Saidu Idris
365Daily – Following a bribery allegation by social media celebrity, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, against a top officer of the Nigeria Correctional Service, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has directed an unconditional and comprehensive investigation into the matter.
Bobrisky made the allegation in a video released by another social media celebrity, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan.
Following a naira abuse charge preferred against him by the EFCC, he spent six months at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre on August 5 after he was convicted by a Federal Court in Lagos after pleading guilty plea to the crime.
However, there was no conviction on the money laundering allegation.
In a statement released on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, the Minister’s media aide, Babatunde Alao, said he stressed that any form of indiscipline, unprofessionalism, and corruption within the paramilitary services under the Ministry’s purview will be met with zero tolerance and severe consequences.
He stated, “The Ministry will not tolerate any compromise on its core values of integrity, transparency, and accountability. We will leave no stone unturned in rooting out corruption and ensuring that those found culpable face the full wrath of the law.”
Alao added that the Minister also constituted a special investigative team headed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, to probe the allegation and submit a comprehensive report.
He assured that the investigation will be rigorous, transparent, and impartial, and that appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken against any personnel found guilty.
Bobrisky, in the video, also claimed to have bribed officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with N15million to drop money laundering charge against him.
In a reaction, the EFCC, in a statement signed by EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, disclosed that the Commission’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had constituted a team of investigators to investigate the matter.