A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, on Wednesday said he won’t retract his statement that a northern governor is the leader of Boko Haram.

Mailafia spoke with journalists shortly after he was released by the Department of State Services, which grilled him for more than six hours at their Jos, Plateau State office.

He said there was no need for him to retract anything.

Mailafia was invited by the DSS on Wednesday following an interview he granted to an Abuja radio station during which he said a northern governor was the commander of Boko Haram.

Mailafia, who arrived at the office the DSS office around 12.30pm, was not released until 6.40pm

A public peace advocate, Rev Para-Mallam, signed for his release at the end of his encounter with the DSS.

Mailafia said he would not keep silent in the face of the current security challenges facing the country even if it meant for him to die. He called for an end to the killings in Southern Kaduna and other parts of the country.

On his claim, Mailafia said, “If I retract anything, I won’t be able to leave this place. I am a man of peace, I am not a man of violence.

“I must never give up on Nigeria, if need be, I will die for Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, the Northern Governors Forum has called for an investigation into the allegation made by Mailafiya.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Chairman of the body and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, described Mailafia’s allegation as weighty, saying it must be investigated.

Lalong said, “We, as Northern governors, have met severally to discuss insecurity in the region and the nation at large where we did not only condemn the activities of terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, bandits and other criminals, but also engaged the President and all heads of security agencies in finding solutions to the problem.

“To now say that one of our members is leading Boko Haram is a serious allegation that cannot be swept under the carpet. We demand immediate and thorough investigation.” (Text, excluding headline, courtesy The Punch)

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