Reno Omokri, a social commentator, has claimed that there was more to the prison sentence of controversial transvestite, Idris Okuneye, aka Bobrisky, than the Naira abuse he was convicted of.
Arogidigba Global Journal reported that Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos, on Friday, sentenced Bobrisky to six months in jail without the option of a fine, for naira mutilation.
Reacting, Omokri said the Nigerian government used the Naira abuse charges as a facade to clap down on the crossdresser.
According to him, the Nigerian government wanted to clamp down on the trending cross-dressing culture in the country but was also “aware of the fact that any direct move in that regard would earn it the whip of the Western powers.”
On his X handle on Monday, he wrote: “What happened with Bobrisky just shows you the savviness of Nigeria compared to other nations and the intellectual response to governing on display by the current administration.
“The Nigerian government obviously wanted to clamp down on the trending cross-dressing culture in Nigeria. But the government was also aware of the fact that any direct move in that regard would earn it the whip of the Western powers.
“The Tinubu administration was in a dilemma. How to deal with Bobrisky for being a cross-dresser but not to make it about his being a cross-dresser. And this is where you have to respect the subtlety of the Tinubu administration. They found a creative genius way.
“Bobrisky violated a law against the abuse of the Naira. That is why a first-time offender committed an offence that even government officials engaged in during Buhari’s son’s wedding, and, despite pleading guilty, was sentenced to six months in prison.
“In fact, there is more video evidence of Naira abuse via spraying at the wedding of no less a person than Abdul Aziz Malami, the son of Abubakar Malami, SAN, Nigeria’s Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
“And the scapegoating of Bobrisky has worked. Since his arrest, have you seen any of his ‘colleagues’ prancing about?
“We used to see them almost daily on blogs and social media. The traditional media, too, could not have enough of them. They got the memo. They have run for cover since the Chairwoman answered to the gender of male in court when asked to state ‘her’ gender.”