Court sentences Maina to eight years imprisonment

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday sentenced Abdulrasheed Maina, the former chairman of the now-defunct Pension Reformed Task Team, to eight years in prison.

Maina was found guilty of money laundering in a judgment delivered by Justice Okon Abang.

The court held that the prosecutor, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has produced essential evidence through witnesses to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Maina is guilty of money laundering in the sum of N171,099,000.

The court added that Maina called only one witness to his defense when he had the opportunity to call as many as he could.

Justice Abang found Maina guilty of concealing his true identity as a signatory to accounts opened in two banks with UBA and Fidelity bank. The court said he used the identity of his family members without their knowledge.

The court said the bank accounts had cash deposits of N300million, N500million, and N1.5billion. The court said that Maina stole monies meant for pensioners as he could not prove where he got them from.

Justice Abang also held that through Maina’s service as a civil servant, his salary and emoluments will not amount to the monies in these accounts.

The court also found Maina guilty for the purchase of a property in Abuja paid in cash in the sum of $1.4million, which is above the statutory threshold of N5million and without passing through a financial institution, describing it as a criminal offense.