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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared the former Chairman of the now-defunct Pension Reformed Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, wanted over an alleged case of receiving stolen properties.
This was disclosed in a notice signed by Dele Oyewale, Head of Media and Publicity, on Wednesday.
The development comes years after Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Maina to eight years in prison for money laundering and other offences.
The EFCC has now called on members of the public with information about his whereabouts to contact the Commission or other security agencies.
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EFCC seeks Maina over alleged stolen properties
According to the EFCC, the public is “hereby notified that ABDULRASHEED ABDULLAHI MAINA, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of Receiving Stolen Properties.”
The Commission stated that anyone with useful information about his whereabouts should contact the Commission at its offices in Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt or Abuja, or via its email address, [email protected].
The EFCC also urged members of the public to contact the nearest police station and other security agencies.
The notice comes after years of legal proceedings involving Maina and his alleged handling of pension funds.
Maina’s conviction and prison sentence
Prior to Maina’s conviction at the Federal High Court, the EFCC, on October 25, 2019, arraigned him alongside his firm, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd, the second defendant, before Justice Abang.
Maina jumped court bail in 2020, prompting the judge to order his arrest.
He was apprehended in the Republic of Niger and brought back to Abuja in December 2020 to continue facing his trial. He was subsequently detained at a correctional facility in Abuja.
In his ruling, Abang said:
- “Having considered how the pensioners’ funds were stolen, the convict is inhuman, heartless and has no compassion for the pensioners. Some have suffered, died in the process while waiting for their reward on earth.”
In the judgment, Maina was sentenced as follows: Count 2, five years in prison; Count 3, eight years in prison; Count 4, eight years in prison; Count 5, two years in prison; Count 6, five years in prison; and Count 7, eight years in prison, with an order to refund N314 million to the Federal Government. Count 8 attracted three years in prison, while Count 9 attracted five years in prison.
On October 7, 2021, his son, Faisal Maina, was convicted and sentenced by the same judge.
In 2023, the Court of Appeal upheld Maina’s conviction.
EFCC’s role in Nigeria’s anti-graft fight
The EFCC is one of Nigeria’s frontline anti-graft agencies and leverages investigation and prosecution to advance the government’s anti-corruption efforts.
However, allegations made by the Commission are examined by the court before a final verdict is delivered to determine whether a suspect is guilty or otherwise.
