Dr.Obadiah Mailafia, who alleged that a serving northern Governor is a commander of Boko Haram, has said that the source of his information are market traders of Fulani heritage.
He spoke as the Department of State Services (DSS) also claimed that he apologised for his incendiary comments when he met with its operatives last Thursday.
Apparently expected to retract his explosive comments outside the DSS office in Jos, Plateau state, where a mass of protesters gathered calling for his release, Mailafis disappointed by sticking to his guns insisting he was ready to lay down his life like former South Africa President, Nelson Mandela.
As part of Government’s disciplinary measures, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has slammed a N5 million fine on the radio station, Mailafia used to make his comments.
In a subsequent interview with the BBC Hausa Service, Mailafia disclosed that he did not know that his comments would go viral.
According to him, he told the DSS what he knew about his allegations and apologised for any statements 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”.
But the DSS, in a statement is not finding what Mailafia did as funny, and has come out to berate him and others it says are working to put the country on edge.
Its full statement by spokesman, Dr. Peter Afunanya, on Friday, reads: “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 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.
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“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 mobilisation 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.”