Department of State Services (DSS) has said a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailafia privately apologised for his allegation against Northern Governors despite his public stance of standing by his words.
Mailafia had in an interview with a radio station alleged that a Northern Governor is the commander of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
He was subsequently invited by the Plateau State office of the DSS and interrogated him for six hours before his release.
Read Also: DSS Invites Mailafia Over Allegation That Northern Gov Is Boko Haram Commander
However, Mailafia while addressing journalists after his visit to the secret police said he stands by his allegations and has no plans to retract his statement.
Read Also: Obadiah Mailafia Insists Northern Governor Leads Boko Haram After Being Released From DSS Custody
Reacting to this, DSS Public Relations Officer, Dr Peter Afunanya, in a statement on Friday, said Mailafia “apologised profusely” for his comments during questioning.
He recalled that the DSS had earlier raised the alarm that some notable personalities were planning to cause a breakdown of law and order.
Afunanya stated;
With the latest occurrences in the country, Nigerians may have no reason to doubt the service’s earlier pronouncement.
Dr Obadiah Mailafia’s recent outburst aimed at playing to the gallery and creating unnecessary tension is a confirmation of his group’s desperation to breach the peace.
He said Mailafia, as a former Deputy Governor of the CBN and currently a Directing Staff at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, should be conversant with official information management protocols.
The PRO added;
Regrettably, he chose to cross the lines of decorum and conduct expected of a personality of his status. It is disappointing that he never took advantage of these to reach any of the security or related agencies to share the so-called information at his disposal.
This, he has agreed to be a grievous error on his part. It, however, suggests his mischief and determination to use the fake news he spewed to incite the people under his control.
He stressed;
It is even more condemnable that Mailafiya, who had profusely apologised during his visit to the Service’s Plateau State Command for his ignoble statement, would, afterward, announce to the world that he stood by his misguided eruption.
Afunanya stated that the force would not allow “disgruntled and aggrieved elements to take laws into their hands and cause mayhem in the polity.”
He added that the agency would not hesitate to, within the confines of the law, to deal with such persons or groups, no matter how highly placed.
