The Presidency has said that the Department of State Services (DSS) is right to invite a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Obadiah Mailafia over his recent comments on the Boko Haram insurgency.
POLITICS NIGERIA had reported that DSS had invited Mailafia on two occasions over his claims on a radio programme that a Northern governor is the commander of the Boko Haram terrorist sect.
But in an interview on a programme on Channels Television on Wednesday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu defended the DSS over the invitation sent to Mailafia. He noted that the DSS took the right decision to invite the former Presidential candidate over his claim.
“This is Nigeria; this is not Mali … Is this the first time the Department of State Service is inviting people for questioning?
“When somebody claiming to be a responsible citizen makes such a claim as Obadiah Mailafia did, saying that a governor is a commander for Boko Haram and he shouldn’t be asked questions, so what kind of society do we want?” Shehu asked.
The Presidential aide also slammed those criticising the security agency for the invitation extended to Mailafiya, adding that people find it difficult to adhere to the laws of the country.
He also backed the increase in the fine for hate speech to N500,000, stressing that the current amount was still not enough to tackle the menace.
“As for the increase in the charge against hate speech, perhaps it’s the assessment of the minister,” Shehu said.
He added, “The N500,000 that was emplaced was not being respected, it was not effective in curtailing these things because somebody picking rumour and is going to the radio to announce that … come on, what are we dealing with?
“There has to be law enforcement in this country as it is happening with our citizens when they go outside the country.”
