…as NGF demands probe, says allegation weighty
A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, has insisted that a Northern governor is the commander of the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria.
He vowed not to retract his statement on the matter.
Mailafia said this while speaking with journalists shortly after he was released by the Department of State Services, which grilled him for more than six hours at their Jos, Plateau State office.
He said it was needless for him to retract anything.
The former CBN deputy governor was invited by the DSS on Wednesday over an interview he granted an Abuja radio station in which he alleged that a northern governor was the commander of Boko Haram.
Mailafia, who arrived at the office the DSS office around 12.30pm, was not released until 6.40pm
A public peace advocate, Rev Para-Mallam, signed for his release at the end of his encounter with the DSS.
The former CBN deputy governor vowed not to be silent in the face of the current security challenges facing the country even if he’s faced with death.
He, therefore, demanded an end to the killings in Southern Kaduna and other parts of the country.
Mailafia said, “If I retract anything, I won’t be able to leave this place. I am a man of peace, I am not a man of violence.
“I must never give up on Nigeria, if need be, I will die for Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, the Northern Governors Forum has called for an investigation into the allegation made by Mailafiya.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Chairman of the body and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, described Mailafia’s allegation as weighty, saying it must be investigated.
Lalong said, “We, as Northern governors, have met severally to discuss insecurity in the region and the nation at large where we did not only condemn the activities of terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, bandits and other criminals, but also engaged the President and all heads of security agencies in finding solutions to the problem.
“To now say that one of our members is leading Boko Haram is a serious allegation that cannot be swept under the carpet. We demand immediate and thorough investigation.”