By Jennifer Y Omiloli
A Federal High Court in Abuja has been told by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that a former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, would jump bail if granted.
The EFCC described Maina as a fugitive of law and an irresponsible citizen in persuading the court to follow his part.
This was contained in a counter affidavit filed by Maina, who is being tried for money laundering related charges, against the bail application.
The anti-graft agency said that in what it described as an elaborate grand scam, Maina allegedly stole about N3 billion pensioners ‘ fund.
EFCC said Maina is a U.S. citizen and a resident of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an expired passport from Nigeria.
However, the commission stated that in Sokoto and Katsina, Maina had always sneaked through the borders with Niger into Nigeria at night.
It prayed to the court to reject Maina’s bail request because it took a lot of effort to arrest him after about seven years of fleeing from security agents.
“The first defendant/applicant is not a responsible citizen, rather he has been a fugitive of law for seven years until his eventual arrest on 30th September, 2019 when he was arrested following a joint operation of Secret Security Service (DSS),” the EFCC said.
Following a report on alleged ill-health and absence from trial, Justice Okon Abang had demanded a fresh medical test for Maina.
The judge will on Thursday, November 7 rule on whether to admit Maina to bail.
