Gyang Bere, Jos
Former presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, who was invited by the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday for the second time has been released after spending 43 minutes with them.
Mailafia drove in at exactly 12.06pm to honour the invitation of the DSS yesterday in an ash Land Rover Jeep marked ABUJA – ABC 843 LX with his wife, Margaret, his lawyer, who is the Plateau State chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Bawa and his surety, Reverend Gideon Para – Mallam.
Later, the former Plateau State Governor, Sir Fidelis Tapgun, came to join them after Mailafia had been let off the hook from the DSS about 12.59pm.
When asked how he was faring, he said: “It is well with you. It is well with the country. But I have again been invited by the DSS. At the weekend, I was asked to come to their headquarters in Jos on Monday. I don’t know the reason for the invitation.
“But as a good citizen of this country, I have to honour the invitation to know why I am being invited. I have to honour all their invitations to help them in their enquiries.”
There was a block barricade mounted by the DSS where journalists were not allowed to go beyond.
Mailafia was invited by the operatives of the DSS for his allegation that a serving Northern governor is the commander of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents. But yesterday, he said that he did not run the interview that was being talked about.
When he was released by the DSS at, Mailafia was besieged by reporters again to know what transpired inside but he disappointed them when he simply said: “I am told not to talk, but you can only talk to my lawyer.”
Speaking with reporters later as directed, Bawa said that it was common knowledge that Mailafia had never failed to honour the DSS invitation, adding that his client was well treated and handled with decorum, dignity, respect and decency which he said he was happy about.
Bawa said that Mailafia is a man of peace who loves the country with passion, adding that he honoured the invitation based also on the security situation in the country.
He said that what took place between his client and the DSS inside there was very fruitful, explaining that the DSS has power to invite anybody when necessary especially to clear some grey areas of controversy.
Asked whether the whole issue was over, Bawa said: “We won’t say it is over yet, but we pray it is over. Our meeting today with them (DSS) is a positive and wonderful meeting.
“He told them that he did not run that interview, that he is a man of peace who is averse to crisis. There is no cause for alarm. So good, so far.”