Bobrisky
FLASHBACK: Did you know police arrested, paraded Bobrisky in 2011? See why. Premium Times report
Before becoming a household name, sparking endless debates, Bobrisky faced a challenge that few knew about or still remember.
Bobrisky’s journey has been anything but ordinary, but here’s a surprising twist in his backstory. Did you know he was arrested and paraded by the police in Lagos in 2011 for dressing like a woman?
Before becoming a household name, sparking endless debates, Bobrisky faced a challenge that few knew about or remember.
Recently, Bobrisky made headlines after he was tried by the EFCC and convicted of naira abuse by a court in Lagos.
On 12 April, Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced the controversial cross-dresser to six months in jail without an option of fine.
Before imposing jail time, the judge asked the crossdresser what his gender was. In response Bobrisky identified as a man.
The 32-year-old had, before his arrest, claimed to have transitioned to a female, and to the credit of his unusual persona on social media platforms like Instagram, he has garnered a substantial following over time.
Cross-dressing has recently ignited a firestorm of debate in Nigeria, following Bobrisky’s recent ordeal. Although no law criminalises cross-dressing in Nigeria yet, a bill was introduced in April 2022 to amend the Same-sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act of 2013 by to include cross-dressing as one of the offences under the law. If the bill is passed into law, cross-dressers risk six months in prison or a fine of N500,000.
Although Bobrisky was recently arrested and jailed for naira abuse, it wasn’t the first time the controversial cross-dresser would be arrested and grappled with a prospect of trial.
In January 2011, before he became a well-known figure, Bobrisky found himself in a peculiar situation at a bar in Surulere Lagos State, where he was arrested and paraded for disguising himself as a woman.
The arrest
In a Vanguard report in 2011, the then 19-year-old Bobrisky was arrested for disguising as a lady to obtain money from men.
This young lad, then known by his birth name, Idris Okuneye, was apprehended in a bar in Surulere, Lagos.
It was on a Sunday, when he had, as usual, dressed like a woman, waiting for clients.
In an unusual twist at the local bar, a man raised the alarm when he realised that a young lady he had met at a bar turned out to be a man.
The man (whose name was withheld) had entered the bar accompanied by two ladies. Idris was there, dressed like a woman. His inviting glance captivated the man that had just arrived.
However, Idris’ behaviour soon aroused the man’s suspicion. Driven by curiosity, the man reached out to touch Idris’ breast, only to be stunned as a sachet of water fell from his bra, leading to an uproar in the bar.
Dual personality
The surprising discovery led to Idris’ immediate arrest.
After he was arrested, he told the police that he had only started this unconventional means of earning money in the same month, with the primary goal of funding his tertiary education.
He said, “I went into it to raise money for my education. After my secondary school education, my father told me he could not afford money for me to buy the JAMB form.
“Again, there was nobody to help me because I am a man. I realised that men do not help their fellow men but women. Then, I decided to start dressing like a lady to deceive men and get money from them, but I did not sleep with them. Whenever it gets to that stage, I stylishly excuse myself.”
Asked how he usually collected money from men, he revealed that he would dial any number and if the owner happened to be a man, he would invite him over, posing as a club girl.
His customers, according to him, sometimes fell into his trap while others disregarded him.
The young Bobrisky’s approach, then, involving posing as a club girl and luring men over the phone, secured varying degrees of success.
As of the time of his arrest he said he had managed to make N20,000, some of which, he said, he used to pay for university admission application fees.
Despite his activities, Bobrisky maintained a low profile in Isolo, Lagos, ensuring his family remained unaware of his alter ego.
As for his acquisition of a convincing female personality, he said he learnt by observing and imitating women’s walking styles. Clad in the right female attire, he also perfected improvising artificial breasts from water satchets.
When he was asked if his parents were aware of what he was into, he explained that he never paraded himself like a lady within the vicinity of his residence in Isolo.
At the time of his arrest, he was clad in a cream-coloured flowing gown, complemented by a jacket crafted from the same fabric adorned with a series of brown rings.
Adding to the ensemble, he sported a striking brown bag embellished with numerous glistening spherical designs. He also accompanied his outfit with bold earrings, and of course, the sachets of water to achieve an ample bosom.
The Lagos State Police Deputy Public Relations Officer at the time, Adesanya Jinadu, who cautioned men to be wary of the likes of Idris, said he would be charged in court with an attempt to defraud and breach public peace.
But not much was heard about the case thereafter.
Although at the time of his arrest, social media was in its infancy stage in Nigeria, hence, the news did not gain so much traction as it would have if had happened later in time.
Femalehood
After the arrest, Bobrisky went off the radar for quite a long time. His next claim to fame was when he started working with famous fashion designer, Toyin Lawani, in 2017, as a cosmetician.
His job with the celebrity fashion designer brought him closer to many celebrities, but no sooner than later, Bobrisky and Toyin fell out, and their friendship went sour.
Toyin later accused him of stealing some of her clients. When he fell out with Toyin, her former boss, he became closer to many celebrities, like Tonto Dike.
Fast forward to now, Bobrisky has grasped fame as a socialite and crossdresser, advertising various cosmetics and engaging in online skirmishes with several celebrities on social media.
He currently has 5 million followers on his Instagram page.
In September 2022, in an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, Bobrisky explained why she identifies as a woman. Bobrisky noted that being a woman had paved many ways for her.
“Women don’t know how powerful they are. They don’t even know how to use their resources as women. Most of them use it, but many women don’t know how.
“I feel like, when I was a guy then, I didn’t have anything. No money. I was just there, hustling. Nobody wants to talk to you. Nobody wants to associate with you. Because you don’t have money. I want to be my boss, so let me use what I have to get what I want,” she said.
According to him, he took a shot at being a crossdresser, not knowing whether it would succeed or not. He said the plan was to do it for a little while and quit.
Bobrisky further said that in Nigeria, women have more opportunities to be more successful than the other gender.
“In 2019, I started thinking about whether to do surgery. I was scared. I wasn’t sure. In 2019, nothing happened. In 2020, I was also scared. Nothing happened. In 2021, I was ready. So I said, anything that wants to happen, let it happen,” he said.
Bobrisky said in 2021 that she finally gave in to her desire to undergo surgery and liposuction to make her appear more feminine.
He often shows off his new female looks on social media. But many critics and sceptics continue to express doubts about the genuineness of those features.
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