Bandits Sponsored By Those Who Wanted Jonathan Out — Mailafia

Obadiah Mailafia, former deputy governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), says bandits were brought into Nigeria in 2015 by
powerful people who wanted former President Goodluck Jonathan out
of power.

In an interview with The
Punch^[1], on
Thursday, Mailafia said those powerful individuals intended to
deploy the bandits for war if Jonathan did not concede the 2015
presidential election.

The former CBN deputy governor also said there should be no
amnesty for the bandits because they are only out to destroy.

“During the 2015 elections they brought in thousands of
foreigners into this country, armed them because it was a case of
if Goodluck Jonathan doesn’t surrender, there will be war. They
were ready for civil war; they were not ready for peace,” Mailafia
said.

“Of course, Jonathan handed over to them and then they turned
their backs on the hoodlums and the hoodlums said ‘look, you
brought us here and we are still here’.

“There are certain world powers that want to destroy our
country. That is what I believe. There was a container load of
weapons that were brought in from Turkey. Another time some were
brought in from Iran. But nobody probed further and everything was
swept under the carpet and that was the end of it.

“I do not believe that the Niger Delta militancy can be compared
to the terrorists. These people (terrorists) are not even bandits.
A bandit is a common thief or a brigand. The ‘agbero’ are bandits.
These people carrying sophisticated weapons and rockets are not
bandits. They are terrorists.

“They have killed, they have maimed, they have raped and they
have wreaked havoc.”

In August 2020, Mailafia was invited by the Department of State
Services (DSS) over his claim that a governor from the north is the
leader of Boko Haram.

After his release from DSS custody, Mailafia said he was ready
to lay down his life for the country like Nelson Mandela, former
president of South Africa, did for his country.

But in an interview with BBC Hausa, Mailafia later said he got
the information from “some traders” in the market and did not know
that his statement would go viral. He admitted that he had no
evidence to back up the claim.

Obadiah Mailafia, former deputy governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), says bandits were brought into Nigeria in 2015 by
powerful people who wanted former President Goodluck Jonathan out
of power.

In an interview with The
Punch^[1], on
Thursday, Mailafia said those powerful individuals intended to
deploy the bandits for war if Jonathan did not concede the 2015
presidential election.

The former CBN deputy governor also said there should be no
amnesty for the bandits because they are only out to destroy.

“During the 2015 elections they brought in thousands of
foreigners into this country, armed them because it was a case of
if Goodluck Jonathan doesn’t surrender, there will be war. They
were ready for civil war; they were not ready for peace,” Mailafia
said.

“Of course, Jonathan handed over to them and then they turned
their backs on the hoodlums and the hoodlums said ‘look, you
brought us here and we are still here’.

“There are certain world powers that want to destroy our
country. That is what I believe. There was a container load of
weapons that were brought in from Turkey. Another time some were
brought in from Iran. But nobody probed further and everything was
swept under the carpet and that was the end of it.

“I do not believe that the Niger Delta militancy can be compared
to the terrorists. These people (terrorists) are not even bandits.
A bandit is a common thief or a brigand. The ‘agbero’ are bandits.
These people carrying sophisticated weapons and rockets are not
bandits. They are terrorists.

“They have killed, they have maimed, they have raped and they
have wreaked havoc.”

In August 2020, Mailafia was invited by the Department of State
Services (DSS) over his claim that a governor from the north is the
leader of Boko Haram.

After his release from DSS custody, Mailafia said he was ready
to lay down his life for the country like Nelson Mandela, former
president of South Africa, did for his country.

But in an interview with BBC Hausa, Mailafia later said he got
the information from “some traders” in the market and did not know
that his statement would go viral. He admitted that he had no
evidence to back up the claim.