By Francis Wilfred
Justice Abubakar Kutigi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Asokoro, has threatened to revoke the bail of Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, over what the court described as persistent attempts to frustrate his trial.
The judge expressed displeasure on Thursday following the presentation of a hospital referral letter by Maina’s counsel, Mr. Achibong, who sought an adjournment on health grounds. Justice Kutigi noted that the referral did not indicate any specific illness warranting the defendant’s continued absence from court.
He lamented that the case had failed to make meaningful progress over the past four years due to what he termed the defendant’s “multiple antics,” despite several opportunities granted by the court for Maina to respond to the allegations against him.
Justice Kutigi observed that proceedings had been “completely stalled,” noting that Maina had not appeared personally before the court for about four years. He warned that the court might revoke the defendant’s bail to compel him to take his trial seriously.
The judge refused the adjournment request and disclosed that he had obtained assurances from the defence team that the trial would henceforth proceed with or without Maina’s physical presence in court.
Following the ruling, prosecution counsel, Francis Usani, called the 14th prosecution witness (PW14), Gogi Mohammed, who continued his evidence-in-chief from the last adjourned date.
According to a statement issued by the Head of Media and Publicity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dele Oyewale, the witness told the court that investigations revealed that the first defendant allegedly used staff of the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF) to siphon public funds through fictitious contracts, allowances, and biometric enrolment exercises for pensioners.
Mohammed further testified that investigators traced several assets to a relative of the defendant, one Maimuna Usman, who resides in Kaduna and allegedly served as a custodian of Maina’s properties.
He said the investigative team visited her residence at Gwando MSC Quarters, arrested her, and executed a search warrant, during which they recovered title documents, deeds of assignment, and certificates of occupancy for over 30 properties, mostly located in Abuja and Kaduna State. According to him, Usman disclosed during interrogation that the documents were handed to her by Maina.
The witness also testified on financial transactions involving one Afe, stating that investigations showed payments of N1.19 million made directly from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation for biometric enrolment, in addition to funds received from Innovative Solutions.
He said Afe informed investigators that the total funds received amounted to about N280 million, out of which N250 million was allegedly given to Maina in tranches through the issuance of post-dated cheques.
Mohammed identified the extra-judicial statements of both the first and second defendants—six pages and three pages respectively—written in their own handwriting at the EFCC office. However, defence counsel objected to their admissibility, claiming the statements were obtained under duress.
To determine the circumstances under which the statements were made, the court adjourned the matter to February 20 and 26 for a trial-within-trial.
Maina was arraigned alongside Ann Igwe Olachi in 2019 on a nine-count charge bordering on the alleged receipt of stolen funds totaling N738,612,019.99. Both defendants pleaded not guilty, leading to the commencement of trial.
