The Department of State Services has said that the recent comments made by a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, was aimed at breaching the peace of the country.

Recall that Mailafia during an interview on Nigeria Info had claimed that repentant Boko Haram members revealed to him that a serving Northern governor was a commander of the terrorist group.

He was subsequently invited for questioning by the DSS on Wednesday but was released after six hours.

The National Broadcasting Commission had also fined Nigeria Info N5m, a move that has drawn condemnation from media groups and rights organisations.

Commenting on the claim by Mailafia, Peter Afunanya, Public Relations Officer of DSS, said the ex-CBN official chose the wrong line of communication in speaking, adding that the information was fake news.

He said, “With the latest occurrences in the country, Nigerians may have no reason to doubt the Service’s earlier pronouncement. Dr Obadiah Mailafia’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.

“Mailafia, as a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and currently a Directing Staff at Nigeria’s foremost Policy Research Institute, the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, 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.”

He also berated Mailafia, who apologized during interrogation, for announcing to the world that he stood by his comments.

The DSS stated that it would no longer watch nor “condone unruly conducts of persons and groups that ought to know better”.

“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,” Afunanya added.

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Mailafia Desperate To Breach Peace Of Nigeria, Says DSS