Michael Anugwa, the deputy controller of corrections at the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kirikiri, Lagos state, says he was not officially suspended, contrary to the statement announcing that he had been suspended over allegations that crossdresser Idris ‘Bobrisky’ Okuneye was staying in an apartment outside the prison during his six-month jail term.

Mr Anugwa described his supposed suspension, which was reported in the news after a leaked audio of Bobrisky revealed how he was allegedly kept in an apartment outside the prison for six months, as a “social media suspension.”

“It’s a social media suspension,” Mr Anugwa said when asked if he was under suspension during his appearance before a House of Representatives panel on Monday.

He added, “No letter was given to me to that effect, sir. There was a press release in the national daily that I and my colleagues have been suspended. They didn’t serve me a letter.”

The secretary of the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), Ja’afaru Ahmed, in a statement by his spokesperson, announced that all officials in charge of the maximum and minimum custodial centres in Kirikiri, Lagos State, involved in Bobrisky’s case had been suspended.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the interior minister, also stated that he “will not tolerate any compromise on the 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.”

To probe the allegations of corruption in the Nigerian Prisons, Mr Tunji-Ojo set up an investigation panel, which will be headed by the permanent secretary of the ministry of interior, Dr Magdalene Ajani.

This comes after Martins ‘VeryDarkMan’ Otse published an audio recording of ‘Bobrisky’, revealing that he was allegedly kept in an apartment close to the prisons when he was sentenced to six months in jail for naira mutilation and abuse-related offences.

In the viral audio, Bobrisky claimed that his “godfather” spoke with senior prison officials who illegally kept him in an apartment for the six months he was supposed to be serving time in prison.