A federal high court in Lagos has dismissed a fundamental rights suit filed by crossdresser Bobrisky against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the national assembly.
Bobrisky had filed the lawsuit seeking N200 million in damages from the EFCC for alleged “psychotic trauma” and N1 billion from the national assembly for purportedly violating his right to a fair hearing.
She also requested a court order to prevent the EFCC and the national assembly from “harassing, detaining, or declaring me wanted”.
However, on November 28, Alexander Owoeye, the judge who presided over the case, held that Bobrisky’s claims were unsubstantiated and lacked credible evidence.
Owoeye said the applicant failed to provide sufficient proof to support his allegations of rights violations.
Dele Oyewale, the EFCC spokesman, released a statement on Friday wherein he quoted the judge.
“Having evaluated the evidence placed before this Court by the Applicant, it is evident that the Applicant has failed to provide credible evidence to justify the award of the declaratory and injunctive reliefs sought by him,” Owoeye was quoted to have said.
“I hold that the claims of violation of fundamental rights against the 1st and 2nd Respondents were not made out of the affidavit evidence placed before this Court.
“The Applicant’s claims against the EFCC and National Assembly were found to lack merit, and are hereby dismissed. No damages were awarded.”
BACKGROUND
The crossdresser has been in the eye of the storm since activist VeryDarkMan shared a purported audio conversation wherein she claimed that she paid some EFCC officials N15 million to drop money laundering charges against her.
Bobrisky was released on August 5, after she was sentenced to six months in prison on April 12 for abusing the naira.
In the purported recording, the crossdresser also claimed that her “godfather”, alongside Haliru Nababa, controller-general of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), ensured she served the six-month sentence in a private apartment and not in prison.
The house of representatives joint committee on financial crimes and reformatory institutions resolved to probe the bribery allegation. It also invited VeryDarkMan, Bobrisky, Ola Olukoyode, EFCC chairman; and Nababa to appear before the committee.
The social media celebrity, who failed to appear before the committee, was arrested on October 21 at the Seme border for allegedly attempting to flee the country.
On November 1, the crossdresser was re-arrested by EFCC officials while attempting to leave Nigeria. A video shared on Instagram showed airport officials dragging her off the plane.
The commission also confirmed that she was rearrested to assist in investigating bribery allegations against the agency after which she finally travelled out of Nigeria on November 4.
Source: @TheCable
