Former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Obadiah Mailafia has said that he would not retract his declaration that a sitting governor in the north is leader of the Boko Haram terrorists that have waged war against the country.
Mailafia was grilled for more than six hours yesterday by the Plateau State command of Department of State Services (DSS) in Jos.
He was invited by the secret police for making allegations on Abuja-based radio station Nigeria Info 95.1 on Monday, August 10 during which he said the government was complicit in the bloodbath going on in Southern Kaduna and that a serving governor in one of the states in the north is a commander of Boko Haram insurgents.
He also said during the coronavirus disease-induced lockdown, the terrorist group was mobile and distributing arms and ammunition across the country.
“We have met with some of their high commanders, they have sat down with us not once, not twice.
“They told us that one of the northern governors is the commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Boko Haram and the bandits are one and the same,” he said.
He warned that Boko Haram was plotting to start a civil war in Nigeria by 2022 with a plan to eliminate prominent Nigerians in their homes in urban cities.
Speaking shortly after his unconditional release, Mailafia said he will not retract his statements and called for an end to all the killings in Southern Kaduna and other states in the country with immediate effect.
“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,” he said.
He further said every Nigerian child, from Daura, Katsina, Manchok to Zaria and other places are his children.
Mailafia explained that he was not talking politics adding that the struggle for emancipation was his concern and that he was not afraid of to die for the sake of the people.
He pointed out that it is the duty of government to protect lives and properties of citizens and commended his well-wishers and supporters, urging them not to give up on one Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) has called for an investigation into Mailafia’s allegations.
The chairman of the organisation and governor of Plateau State, Mr. Simon Lalong, said in a statement that Mailafia’s allegations as “serious” and should “not be swept under the carpet.”
“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,” he said.
