Obadiah Malafia complained of malaria two days ago, says cousin

One of the cousins of Obadiah Mailafia, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said he spoke with the deceased two days before he died.

Mailafia died at Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital, Abuja, on Sunday morning.

The cousin, who pleaded anonymity because the family did not authorise him to speak on their behalf, said when they spoke, the former CBN deputy governor explained that he was having malaria and cattarh.

He said Mailafia told him he had to switch off his main number because people were disturbing him on that line.

According to the cousin, after they finished talking, he (the cousin) wished him quick recovery and thanked him for an assistance he rendered him last week.

“Only for me to get a call today’s church service that he has passed on,” he said.

The cousin, who resides in Jos, Plateau State capital, said though Mailafia had a house in Jos, he did not reside  there.

He said last year when he was offered an appointment at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru near Jos, he lived in the ancient city during the period.

It was in Jos that he granted a radio station an interview that a serving Governor was a commander of Boko Haram.

Mailafia had also alleged that during the COVID-19 lockdown, insurgents were moving and distributing arms and ammunition across the country, and that they were moving up and down as if there was no lockdown.

This made the Department of State Services (DSS) invite him to its Jos office where he was interrogated thrice.

He was 64.