Former Deputy Governor of Central Bank, CBN, Obadiah Mailafai, has declared that he was ready to lay down his life to stop the killings in Nigeria.
Mailafia who is now a strong member of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, made the declaration on Wednesday after he was released by the Department of State Services, DSS, upon interrogation at Los, Plateau State.
He was invited by the DSS over his comments on Boko Haram, in an interview on a radio station on Monday, where he claimed that a governor was a commander of the terrorists group.
He honoured the DSS invitation with his lawyers, Pius Akubo and Yakubu Bawa, in his company.
His supporters also stormed the office of the DSS and did not leave until his release.
Addressing his supporters upon his release, he said he did not deny all the things that he said during the interview and that operatives of the DSS did not in any way maltreat him.
He emphasised the need for the government to protect the citizens against incessant killings.
His address reads: “We had a lively and intense interview over a radio interview I granted. That interview which was meant for an FM radio station, some just picked the clip — a small section of the 55 minutes broadcast — and put it on social media and it went very very far all over the country, raising a lot of concerns.
“What I want to say is that, yes, all of those words were made by me. You know if the whole of the 55 minutes was played out, the context of what I said in a small clip that went viral would have become clearer.
“This is not the time to disown what I said. Yes, I was privy to some very sensitive information which all statesmen are entitled to have by virtue of our public roles.
“I know that I should have taken more care to corroborate some of the information I received, but perhaps some of it was uncorroborated. I was in no position to follow them to the camp to corroborate what was going on.
“But I am not a sensationalist, I am an economist and a central banker; by nature we are not given to sensation. Let me make it clear: I am a humanist; I am a man of peace. Even my name, Mailafia, means a man of peace.
“From the bottom of my heart, I love our country dearly and I abhor all the killings and violence which the innocent people of this country have been subjected to. I pray that Nigeria will never experience another civil war.
“The most elementary duty of government is to protect its citizens. When a government fails to protect its citizens, to protect little children, that is a serious matter. Any innocent boy or girl that is killed is my own child.
“I love Nigeria. Like Mandela, let me say if need be, I am prepared to give my life for Nigeria.”
