The Department of State Services, DSS, has released former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, who was invited for questioning over some allegations he made on the security situation in the country.
Mailafia had been invited by the DSS to appear at its office on Wednesday following an interview he granted to a radio station in which he accused a northern governor of being a commander of Boko Haram.
Dr. Mailafia, on Wednesday, honoured the invitation of DSS over his comment that government is culpable for the ongoing killing in Southern Kaduna, alleging that a serving governor in one of the states in the North is a Commander of Boko Haram.
He arrived at the Jos, Plateau State Command of the DSS at exactly 12:45p.m., along with his wife, Margaret; a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Pius Akubo; Plateau State Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Bawa; Rev. Gideon Para-Mallam, among others.
He was there from the time he reported until about 7p.m., when he was released unconditionally.
Speaking shortly after his release, Dr. Mailafia said he was treated with respect and decorum during the period of interrogation. He noted that all the killings in Southern Kaduna and other states in the country must stop with immediate effect.
According to Mailafia, every Nigerian child, from Daura, Katsina, Manchok to Zaria and other places are his children, adding that he was not talking politics, that the struggle for emancipation was his concern, stressing that he is not afraid 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.
His wife, Margaret, appreciated all who stood by them, saying her husband is “a good man who stands with the people.”
Meanwhile, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has begun moves to penalise a radio station, Nigeria Info, which aired the interview where Dr. Obadiah made the allegation.
Mailaifa was interviewed on Monday during one of the station’s programmes called Morning CrossFire, to talk on the killings in Southern Kaduna, one of the parts of the North-West region worst hit by banditry.
The reporter had asked him if the government was unwilling to protect the people of Southern Kaduna, to which he replied that some residents believed the government was sponsoring the killers.
The former Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress said, “Some of us also have our intelligence networks. I have met with some of the bandits; we have met with some of their high commanders – one or two who have repented – 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. They have a sophisticated network. During this lockdown their planes were moving up and down as if there was no lockdown.
“They were moving ammunition, moving money, and distributing them across different parts of the country.”
Mailafia said Boko Haram had already infiltrated Southern Nigeria, adding that their plan was to spark a second civil war.
It was gathered that the NBC could term Mailaifa’s statement as hate speech and sanction the station.
It would recalled that the Commission recently unveiled its Reviewed Broadcasting Code in Lagos and raised the fine for hate speech from N500,000 to 5 million naira.
The Zonal Coordinator of the NBC, Chibuike Ogwumike, said the station breached the NBC code of conduct.
But he declined comments on the type of sanction to be meted out on the station, saying only the director-general of the commission could talk about it.
