Former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Obadiah Mailafia has accused those who wanted former President Goodluck Jonathan out by all means and some unnamed foreign powers as sponsors of bandits terrorising the country.
“During the 2015 elections they brought in thousands of foreigners into this country, armed them because it was a case of if Goodluck Jonathan doesn’t surrender, there will be war. They were ready for civil war; they were not ready for peace.
“Of course, Jonathan handed over to them and then they turned their backs on the hoodlums and the hoodlums said ‘look, you brought us here and we are still here’.”
Mailafia who has been guest of the Department of State Services (DSS) over comments on sponsors of Boko Hara,m terrorists, also stated that he was convinced that some foreign powers were behind the bandits.
“There are certain world powers that want to destroy our country. That is what I believe. There was a container load of weapons that were brought in from Turkey. Another time some were brought in from Iran. But nobody probed further and everything was swept under the carpet and that was the end of it,” he said.
On his invitation by the DSS, he said the fact that other people had made worse comments but were never invited showed that he was unfairly targeted.
“My name is Mailafia and I am always for peace. I want peace in this country because I know without peace there can be no development but I think the people in government have to be objective and treat us equally. Someone says one thing and they go after him. Others say worse things and they are treated with kid gloves,” he said.
Mailafia disagreed with Sheik Ahmad Gumi who has been campaigning for amnesty to the bandits pillaging the country.
He said it was wrong to offer such criminals amnesty and then make no provision for the victims.
He said bandits have no agenda other than to destroy stressing, maintain that appeasing them would never work.
Mailafia also contended that the Niger Delta militants cannot be compared with the marauders.
“I do not believe that the Niger Delta militancy can be compared to the terrorists. These people (terrorists) are not even bandits. A bandit is a common thief or a brigand. The ‘agbero’ are bandits. These people carrying sophisticated weapons and rockets are not bandits. They are terrorists.
“They have killed, they have maimed, they have raped and they have wreaked havoc,” Mailafia said.
