Obadiah Mailafia, former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is dead.
The 64-year-old development economist died at the National Hospital Abuja on Sunday morning.
Luka Binniyat, spokesman of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), confirmed Mailafia’s death in a telephone chat on Sunday.
Binniyat said Mailafia, who took refuge in Markudi, Benue state, following alleged persistent harassment by the Department of State Security Services (DSS), fell sick on Saturday and was rushed to an Abuja hospital.
“You know, following his harassment by the DSS, he has been taking refuge from place to place,” Binniyat said.
“The last place he went to take refuge is Markudi. Yesterday (Saturday), he took ill and he was rushed to the hospital that he normally attend in Abuja. This morning, he was pronounced dead.”
Mailafia was appointed deputy governor of CBN in 2005 from the African Development Bank (AfDB) where he served as the chief economist responsible for Strategic Planning and Corporate Reporting.