Maina to remain in prison till trial ends

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday ordered the remand of the former chairman of Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abulrasheed Maina, in prison, till the end of his trial.

Justice Okon Abang made the order following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecution counsel, Mohammed Abubakar.

The Nigeria Police Force, Thursday extradited Maina, to Nigeria from Niamey, Niger Republic, where he was arrested after being declared wanted by the court over a pending criminal trial against him.

The former pension boss was arrested on 30th November 2020 by the team from INTERPOL Nigeria, led by the Commissioner of Police INTERPOL, CP Garba Umar, having completed the necessary documentation requirements and other extradition processes. Maina was flown into Nigeria aboard an NPF Jet 5N-HAR and landed at exactly 1417Hrs (Nigerian Time).

EFCC is prosecuting Maina, alongside his firm, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd, on a 12-count of operating fictitious bank accounts, corruption, and money laundering to the tune of N2 billion, for which the commission has so far called six witnesses.

Maina was granted bail in the sum of N1 billion on November 26, 2019, which was later varied on January 28, 2020, to N500 million with a senator as surety, and further varied on June 29, 2020, leading to a volunteer by Ndume as his surety.

Since his release on bail, the trial has been adjourned on different occasions without Maina’s appearance. As a result, the court on November 18, 2020, issued a bench warrant on Maina, revoked his bail, and ruled to try him in absentia.