By Damilare Adeleye
Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju, popularly known as Bobrisky, a controversial cross-dresser, has been arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Lagos State.
The arrest was confirmed by the EFCC spokesman, Mr Dele Oyewale in a telephone conversation with newsmen on Thursday morning.
According to the anti-graft agency, Bobrisky was arrested for mutilation of naira notes and not for his lifestyle as a cross-dresser.
“It is true our boys arrested him yesterday evening in Lagos for naira abuse. We don’t have anything to do with his lifestyle (being a cross-dresser). He was suspected of committing an economic crime and that was the reason for his arrest,” Oyewale explained.
Bobrisky’s arrest comes barely 24 hours after the Nigeria Police Force stated that it lacked enough evidence to arrest him for same-sex activities.
Force Public Relations Officers, Olumuyiwa Ademola told newsmen on Tuesday that cross-dressers cannot be arrested because Nigeria has no law against cross-dressing.
He also said there is no evidence to support claims that cross-dressers also belong to the LGBTQ+ community.
He said, “There are some cases that are always very difficult to prove.
“I’m not ruling out that we have many of them. Let us be reasonable, you can’t have someone you want to prosecute without having credible evidence against them. I have not read anywhere where cross-dressing is an offence in Nigeria.
“Some of them that are into cross-dressing, the allegation is that they are into something else.
“That’s where the problem lies. We need to have enough proof, credible evidence to prove that they are actually into that. All those offences are natural offences in Nigeria and they are punishable under our laws.”
