Falana refutes allegations of involvement with Bobrisky
Prominent Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has firmly denied any involvement in bribery or money laundering charges concerning popular Nigerian cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky. The senior advocate’s rebuttal follows claims made in a viral video by blogger Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, accusing unnamed officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of collecting ₦15 million from Bobrisky to dismiss money laundering charges against him.
In the same video, Otse also suggested that Falana had sought a presidential pardon for Bobrisky in exchange for a ₦10 million bribe. However, Falana, while speaking on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on Thursday evening, dismissed the allegations as baseless and categorically false.
“I have never spoken to Bobrisky, nor have I ever met him,” Falana said. “I don’t know him from Adam. This claim that I was involved in any arrangement regarding his legal issues is completely untrue.”
Falana explained that the viral video further claimed that Bobrisky had allegedly contacted his son, Folarin Falana, a Nigerian musician and actor known as Falz, on May 4, 2024. According to the senior advocate, Bobrisky had reportedly reached out to Falz to request a favor involving money.
“My son informed me that Bobrisky called him, requesting ₦3 million to be placed in a special part of the prison,” Falana stated during the television interview. “Folarin immediately asked him, ‘Are you calling me under the authority of the prison superintendent?’ When Bobrisky said ‘No,’ my son told him not to contact him again.”
Falana expressed frustration over the spread of what he termed “infantile radicalism,” as false claims from the video continue to circulate on social media. He stressed that the entire narrative was a fabrication and urged the public to ignore such misleading information.
The viral video, which sparked a flurry of reactions online, fueled public discourse around the alleged corrupt practices involving EFCC officers and celebrities like Bobrisky. However, Falana took the opportunity during his television appearance to clarify his stance and reject any connection to the accusations.
“These are unfounded lies that do nothing but damage reputations without a shred of truth. Social media is being weaponized to spread misinformation, and I will not allow these falsehoods to go unanswered,” Falana stated.
The accusations come amid heightened public scrutiny of high-profile figures and their dealings with law enforcement agencies like the EFCC. For his part, Bobrisky has yet to make any official statement regarding the allegations, and the EFCC has not commented on the claims of bribery involving its officers.
As the controversy continues to swirl online, Falana has made it clear that he will pursue legal action if necessary to protect his reputation from what he describes as “malicious falsehoods” propagated by social media users.
