Obadiah Mailafia, former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says he got the information about a northern governor leading Boko Haram from traders in a market.
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Mailafia was invited by the Department of State Services (DSS) over a claim he made that a governor from the north is the leader of Boko Haram — he made the claim while being interviewed on a radio station in Abuja on Monday.
After his release from DSS custody, he said he is ready to lay down his life for the country like Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, did for his country.
But in an interview with BBC Hausa on Thursday, Mailafia said he got the information from “some Fulani traders” in the market and did not know that his statement would go viral.
According to him, his words were misunderstood and that he did not even know he was recorded on video.
Mailafia said he told the DSS what he knew about the incident and would not repeat what he said. He apologised for any comments he made that offended others.
He added that he is a fan of President Muhammadu Buhari, “but there are bad people who don’t give him the advice to help him”.
The Northern Governors Forum (NGF) had asked security agencies to investigate Mailafia’s claim, saying the allegation is too heavy to be swept under the carpet.
On Friday, the DSS had described Mailafia’s claim as fake news. The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) also slammed a N5 million fine on the radio station that aired the interview.
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