Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Obadiah Mailafia, has resigned his appointment from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru, near Jos. He said his decision to quit the organisation was because of the killings of his people in southern Kaduna by suspected Fulani terrorists.
“I have resigned from NIPSS”, he told Daily Trust. “Nobody asked me or pressurise me to resign. I did it on my owm”, he said.
“I decided that I cannot continue working, with all my good conscience, when my people are continually being killed and genocide is being committed against my people.
“That was the reason i gave, and the management has accepted my resignation”, he added.
Mailafia is being investigated by the Department of State Services, DSS, over his recent claims during an interview he granted a radio station. The radio station was fined N5m for making its platform available for Mailafia to air his views on the conscienceless killings in Southern Kaduna and the state of insecurity generally in Nigeria.
Dr. Mailafia, who was the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in the 2019 general elections, until his resignation was a directing staff at NIPSS, a think-tank institution in the country.
His counsel, Yakubu Bawa, confirmed on Tuesday that he tendered his resignation last week and the Institute has accepted it.
Besides being investigated by the DSS, the Nigeria Police Force had also extended an invitation to him, which is being challenged by his legal team on grounds that it was “strange and alien to Nigeria’s extant laws and procedures” and had approached the court asking for the invitation to be put on hold.
Bawa, who spoke on behalf of the team, said: “The DSS had assumed investigation in the matter. For the purpose of clarity and emphasis, DSS is still investigating Dr Obadiah Mailafia in respect of the said matter. “However, as legal defence team to Dr Obadiah Mailafia, we have carefully and meticulously analysed the letter of invitation served on him, as well as the intention of the Nigeria Police Force as clearly stated in the said letter of invitation.
“We are praying the court to make a judicial pronouncement on the letter of invitation served on Dr Obadiah Mailafia. “We are equally subjecting the invitation made by the office of the DIG Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja, to Dr Obadiah Mailafia to appear for an interview under judicial scrutiny. “We strongly believe that it is significant to hear the decision of the Court on these germane issues.”
