Nigerian crossdresser and social media personality, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, was apprehended at the Seme Border in the early hours of Monday, October 21st.
Eyewitnesses present at the scene have provided more information on the circumstances surrounding his arrest, shedding light on how the event unfolded.
Bobrisky reportedly arrived at the Seme Border, a key crossing point between Nigeria and neighboring Benin Republic, around 1:30 a.m. in a black Mercedes Benz SUV. According to sources, his journey was interrupted shortly after reaching the border.
Eyewitnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Bobrisky’s vehicle initially bypassed Port Health officials stationed at the departure section of the border post.
Instead of stopping for routine checks, the car continued to the next checkpoint managed by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). At this point, Bobrisky handed over his passport to the driver, who then proceeded to the immigration desk for stamping.
An immigration officer, identified as Yusuf, was the first to notice the identity of the person inside the vehicle as Bobrisky. Yusuf immediately alerted his superior officer, prompting the intervention of the Controller of Immigration at the Seme Command, Mr. Muhammad Adamu.
Sources say that the next step involved inviting Bobrisky to the surveillance unit for a passport capture, a standard procedure for those crossing the border.
However, instead of simply completing the capture process, Bobrisky was escorted to the office of the controller for questioning. This raised curiosity about the true reasons for his detainment, leading to increased attention at the border.
“Idris handed over his passport to the driver for stamping at the Nigeria Immigration Service post.
“The immigration surveillance officer, identified as Yusuf, while going through the passport, detected that the person inside the vehicle was Bobrisky.
“He called the most senior officer on duty to the scene, and they secretly invited the Controller of Immigration, Seme Command, Mr Muhammad Adamu.
“The surveillance officer then went back to invite Bobrisky for capturing in order to stamp the passport.
“On getting to the surveillance unit for capturing, he was taken to the controller’s office for questioning,” a source told NAN.
Another source told NAN that Bobrisky’s lawyer later came to Seme to inquire why he was arrested by the personnel of the immigration command.
“Bobrisky stayed inside the controller’s office until 4.00 p.m., when he was taken to Lagos State Command of NIS for further investigation,” the source said.
NAN recalls that NIS on Monday confirmed the arrest of Bobrisky at the Seme Border.
The Public Relations Officer of the Service, Mr Kenneth Udo, said Bobrisky was arrested because he “is a person of interest over recent issues of public concern”.
Udo, in a statement issued in Abuja, said: “In keeping with its commitment to securing the borders, NIS intercepted Bobrisky at the Seme Border over an attempt to exit the country.”
