Gbenro Adesina
The Department of State Services (DSS) has condemned the claim by a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Obadiah Mailafia, that a governor from the northern part of Nigeria is the leader of the Boko Haram sect.
In a statement dated August 14 2020 and signed by the DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, it described the claim as mischievous, saying it only lends credence to the service’s alert about desperate efforts by some notable personalities to cause a total breakdown of law and order.
According to the DSS, Mailafia as a directing staff at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), has unrestricted access to security agencies.
“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,” Afunanya said.
Mailafia was invited by the service to its office in Jos on Wednesday and grilled for hours over the claim he made in an interview on a radio station in Abuja about the activities of Boko Haram in the country.
After his release from the DSS custody, Mailafia insisted he stood by his claims.
The service, however, warned that it will not allow those it describes as disgruntled and aggrieved elements to take laws into their hands and cause mayhem in the country.
The statement titled, DSS Reiterates Warning Against Efforts to Subvert the Nation, read in part:
“On 27th July, 2020, the Department of State Services (DSS) alerted the nation about desperate efforts by some notable personalities to use their exalted positions; take advantage of developments in the country and cause a total breakdown of law and order. It also revealed that part of the orchestrations was to engage in divisive acts as well as use inciting statements to pit one group against another.
“With the latest occurrences in the country, Nigerians may have no reason to doubt the Service’s earlier pronouncement. Dr. Obadiah Mailafiya’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.
“Mailafiya, as a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and currently, a Directing Staff at Nigeria’s foremost Policy Research Institute, the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, has unhindered access to government platforms. It is expected that he should be conversant with official information management protocols.
“But 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.
“It is even more condemnable that Mailafiya, who had profusely apologized during his visit to the Service’s Plateau State Command for his ignoble statement, would, afterwards, announce to the world that he stood by his misguided eruption.
“Similarly, the Service also wishes to warn others, who in the guise of political mobilization and supposed pursuit of group interests, engage in hostile and subversive activities, to desist forthwith from advancing their inimical and parochial causes.
“The Service will not stand idly and watch disgruntled and aggrieved elements take laws into their hands and cause mayhem in the polity.
“In line with its mandate of detecting and preventing threats and crimes against the internal security of Nigeria, the Service hereby reiterates its previous warning that it will henceforth not condone unruly conducts of persons and groups that ought to know better.
“In this regard, it will not hesitate to, within the confines of the law, decisively deal with such persons and/or groups, no matter how highly placed, that may wish to test its resolve. It will, nonetheless, continue to support participatory democracy in the country and therefore urges all players to abide by the rules of the game.
“On the other hand, the Service implores law-abiding citizens to go about their normal businesses without fear. It assures them of protection and pledges to strengthen existing measures designed to achieve this objective”.
