The pan-northern socio-political organisation, the Arewa Consultative Forum, on Thursday, advised government not to sweep recent allegations by a former Central Bank of Nigeria Deputy Governor, Dr Obadia Mailafia, under the carpet.
The National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Emmanuel Yawe, in an interview with The PUNCH, said the allegation by Mailafia that a northern governor was a Boko Haram leader was weighty and should be “screened.”
The former CBN deputy governor, in an interview with a radio station, Nigeria Info 99.3FM, had said some repentant terrorists revealed to him that a serving northern governor was a Boko Haram commander.
He 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 was the commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Boko Haram and the bandits are one and the same.”
Mailafia was on Wednesday quizzed for several hours by the Department of State Services in Jos. After leaving the DSS office, the ex-deputy governor of the CBN said he would not retract the statement he made.
In the interview with The PUNCH, the ACF spokesman, Yawe, said the allegations coming from a former CBN deputy governor were weighty and should be “screened.”
According to him, Nigeria cannot afford to sweep such allegations under the carpets. He hailed the DSS for inviting Mailafia.
The ACF spokesman said, “Given his status as former deputy governor (of the CBN) and the weight of the allegations he raised, the DSS did the correct thing in inviting Obadia Mailafia.
“He owes it to the country to shed more light on these allegations. We cannot afford to sweep such allegations under the carpet.
“Boko Haram has killed many people, destroyed the lives of many Nigerians, foreigners and Nigeria’s image in the comity of nations. The allegation that a governor who swore by the constitution and the holy book to defend the lives and property of the citizenry is behind such a satanic group is repugnant and must be properly screened.
“Additionally, we fought a costly civil war in terms of human lives and materials between 1967 and 1970. If there is any information that a group is planning a civil war, we should do all we can to verify such information and abort the plan. We cannot afford a second civil war.”
On its part, the Coalition of Northern Groups, challenged Mailafia to go ahead and name the northern governor who was the commander of Boko Haram.
According to the CNGs, the fact that Mailafia is sticking to his guns even after his arrest called government to question.
He stated, “For instance, he should disclose the name of the northern governor and the extent of involvement of government as he claimed.”
Spokesperson for the CNGs, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, stated these in an interview with one of our correspondents in Kaduna on Thursday.
The CNGs said, “We look at the Mailafia saga from two perspectives. One is the direct accusation of the involvement of government and in particular, a serving northern governor with the unceasing insecurity and other disturbances in the region. The fact that Mailafia is sticking to his guns even after the arrest has certainly called government to question”.
“The man has made a serious commitment by claiming that he has reliable intelligence of the existence of such dangerous plot. The authorities should get him to prove his claims, perhaps he can even assist the government
