The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Tuesday, described Bobrisky’s prison scandal as a reflection of institutional challenges.

Bobrisky (real name Idris Okuneye) has been enmeshed in a scandal over his jail term for abusing the country’s currency.

The crossdresser in a viral video claimed to have bribed some officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to get preferential treatment in prison.

Mr Tunji-Ojo, in an interview on Channels TV, said, “When you have an institutional problem, you don’t just provide a knee-jerk approach to solving it.

“We set up that committee to look into all the issues, beyond Bobrisky, beyond people absconding – it is a whole institutional issue.”

The minister emphasised the urgent need to reform the country’s institutions, saying, “We cannot transfer today’s problem to the future.”

Mr Tunji-Ojo added that the Nigerian government was on top of emerging security challenges, especially in the North.

“The way innocent Nigerians are watching me talk, don’t be surprised that terrorists are also watching me to know if I will be flippant, so they would be a mile ahead of us,” the minister explained. 

He added, “All I can tell you is that the government is on top of these emerging security issues from all angles and using  all agencies within its purview.”