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Convicted Maina’s N2.7bn fraud approved by Oronsaye – EFCC
The judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja which convicted a former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, to six years imprisonment was on Tuesday in Abuja admitted as exhibit against a former Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Stephen Oronsaye.
The judgment was tendered in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the ongoing trial of Oronsaye on money laundering charges.
During the resumed trial on Tuesday, the prosecuting counsel, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, tendered the judgment through the prosecution’s 20th witness in the trial, Rukayat Ibrahim.
Ibrahim, an EFCC operative, who has been giving her testimony in the trial in the last one year, told the court that the commission had succeeded in convicting Maina and sentencing him to six years in prison for N2.7 bn pension fraud.
According to her, the money was in the pension fund and investigation revealed that the money was approved by Oronsaye.
Ibrahim added that Maina opened five fictitious accounts in a commercial bank and used them to siphon the money from the pension fund for his personal use.
She said, “Our investigation revealed that Abdulrasheed Maina took advantage of the fact that his brother worked with one of the commercial banks and opened the accounts in contravention to provisions of the Money Laundering Act.
“The accounts were opened without carrying out ‘know your customer,’ they were operated through SMS and emails and our investigations showed that although they had fictitious names, they were operated by Abdulrasheed Maina even though his name and picture did not appear on any of the accounts.
“We were able to link them to him through his signature on his extra-judicial statement, the phone number used to receive alerts and some payments from those accounts were traced to his real account.”
The witness also said investigation revealed that on July 15, 2010, over N101 million was transferred to Oronsaye’s account.
Ibrahim said when the commission asked for an explanation, Oronsaye gave an unclear explanation and brought a letter from the Presidency that the money was sent to the Presidency.
She further told the court that the letter did not represent virement of the money.
Justice Inyang Ekwo has however adjourned the matter till February 3 for cross-examination of the witness.
February 3, 2022
JUST IN: Maina repatriated from Niger Republic
The Nigeria Police Force has extradited the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, from Niamey, Niger Republic.
The fugitive was apprehended in the Nigerian capital on Monday, by the operatives of the NPF, International Criminal Police Organisation National Central Bureau, Abuja, in collaboration with their Nigerien counterparts.
Daybreak gathered on Thursday that the fugitive has been brought to Abuja where he was being held at a police facility.
He will be interrogated before handing over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission or the Nigerian Correctional Service for remand in Kuje Custodial facility.
The former director in the ministry of interior, who is being prosecuted on 12 counts of money laundering to the tune of N2 billion by the EFCC, had jumped bail forcing the trial judge, Justice Abang Okon to issue an arrest warrant against him.
He was said to have stopped attending his trial since September 29, 2020, prompting Justice Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to order the remand of his surety, Senator Ali Ndume penultimate Monday.
The court, however, granted bail to the Borno South Senator, last Friday.
December 3, 2020
Maina: High Court grants bail to Ndume
The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to the Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, who has been detained in prison since Monday over his suretyship for Abdulrasheed Maina believed to have jumped bail.
Justice Okon Abang in a ruling on Friday said he chose to grant the senator bail based on his record of good behaviour before the court, notwithstanding that the other grounds of his bail application failed.
The judge granted bail to the senator pending the hearing and determination of Ndume’s appeal filed at the Court of Appeal to challenge Monday’s order sending him to jail for his inability to produce the fleeing Maina.
He ordered the senator to produce one surety who must be a resident of Abuja and present evidence of ownership of property anywhere in Abuja.
According to the judge, the surety must also depose to an affidavit of means to indicate his readiness to forfeit the bail guaranty should the senator jump bail.
The judge also ordered the senator to deposit his passport with the Chief Registrar of the court.
He also ordered the lawmaker to file an undertaking that he would compile records of appeal and transmit it to the Court of Appeal within 10 days, a way the court wants him to demonstrate his readiness to prosecute his appeal.
Maina, a former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reformed Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, is being prosecuted by the EFCC on charges of money laundering involving N2bn.
On November 18, 2020, Justice Abang revoked the bail granted him, ordered his arrest, and directed that his trial would proceed in absentia.
The judge also on Monday remanded Ndume in prison until he produced Maina or paid the sum of N500m bail bond to the Federation Account.
Ndume, through his lawyer, Marcel Oru, had on Tuesday filed an appeal against the remand order at the Court of Appeal, along with an application for the bail of the defendant filed before Justice Abang.
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November 27, 2020
Judge shows mercy on Maina, reduces N1billion bail to N500 million
The Federal High Court in Abuja has reduced the bail bond of chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, from N1billion to N500 million. Justice Okon Abang in a ruling on Tuesday also maintained that Mr Maina is to present one surety in like sum who must be a senator.
January 28, 2020
Alleged pension scam: How Maina illegally acquired property in son’s name–EFCC witness
An EFCC operative, Mohammed Goji, on Wednesday, revealed how Abdulrasheed Maina, ex-Pension Reform boss, illegally acquired several property in the name of his son, Faisal.
Goji, who is a Principal Detective Superintendent with the anti-graft agency, was also the second prosecution witness (PW2) in the ongoing trial of Faisal.
Goji, who is also a member of Pension Fraud Team of EFCC that investigated Maina, gave the narrative while giving evidence before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
He said the Pension Fraud Team was constituted in 2010 to conduct investigation into pension accounts audit at the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation as well as the Police.
“During that time, Abdulrasheed Maina was the chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, established to restructure the pension office.
“He also became a subject of investigation. It was in the course of the investigation of Abdulrasheed Maina that the name of the defendant (Faisal) featured prominently.
“During the investigation of Abdulrasheed Maina, who was involved in a complex web of money laundering, which include movement of funds from the police pension account as well as the accounts of the pension office of the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation to corporate entities as payment for biometric enrollment; payment of collective allowances and payment of contracts, which were fraudulent,” he said.
He added that in the course of the investigation, a letter was sent to Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to request for information on some of the companies they came across.
“They obliged us with copies of incorporation, Form C02 and other documents, which revealed the directors of the companies and their shareholders.
“Also, we sent letters of investigation activities to banks and requested for details of accounts and they obliged us with these documents,” he said.
The EFCC operative explained further that sometimes in September 2019, the EFCC received an intelligence report that Abdulrasheed Maina was in the country but they did not know where he was.
“So, the EFCC liased with the DSS to assist us in effecting the arrest of Maina.
“He was eventually arrested along with the defendant (Faisal) on Sep. 29, 2019.
“The DSS handed them over to us on Oct. 2, 2019 along with some items recovered from them, which include cars and personal belongings in suitcases, handbags and Bagco bags.
“We granted them an opportunity to invite their lawyers because we were directed to record their statements.
“On Oct. 3, Faisal was interviewed in the presence of his lawyer. His statement was recorded in his own handwriting and signed.
“Additional statements were recorded about three or four times later. He also filled his declaration of assets form in the presence of his lawyer,” Goji said.
The witness added that during the investigation, they came across an account named: Alhaji Faisal Abdullahi Farms with the UBA, of which he (Faisal) is a co-signatory with Abdulrasheed Maina.
He added that Alhaji Faisal Farms is operated by Abdulrasheed Maina and that investigation revealed that the account was funded with the proceeds of illegality.
“We came across following companies: Drew Investment & Construction Company LTD, Cruise City Ltd; Northridge Property Int’l Ltd; Mambilla Resorts. These companies have the defendant (Faisal) as a director.
“We also discovered that a property at Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Kaduna, was acquired in the name of Drew Investment & Construction Ltd.
“We also discovered that another property at Gombe Road, Biu LGA of Borno State was acquired in the name of Cruise City Ltd.
“We also discovered that a property at No. 3A Sambo Road, Kaduna, was acquired in the name of Faisal A. Abdullahi.
“A property at Plot 165 Life Camp, Abuja, was acquired in the name of Doctor Faisal A. Abdullahi.
“A property at No 16e, Kajuru road, Kaduna was also acquired in the name of Faisal A. Abdullahi,” he stated.
Gogi, who told the court that the full name of the defendant is Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, hinted that in the course of filling the declaration of assets form, Faisal indicated his grandfather’s name as Abdullahi.
Justice Abang adjourned till Dec. 16 and 17 for trial continuation.(NAN)
December 12, 2019
Maina will escape if granted bail – EFCC
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.
November 6, 2019
Controversy in court as Judge tells Maina not to look at him
By Jennifer Y Omiloli
There was a minor drama at the Federal High Court, Abuja, as presiding judge, Justice Abang Okon asked the controversial former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, to stop looking at him.
Okon said this when he was about to rule on Maina’s attorney Ahmed Raji’s bail request.
Okon said, “Please I don’t want the 1st defendant to look at me when I am delivering my ruling so that I can concentrate.”
In an effort to reinforce the judge’s order, the court registrar further exacerbated the situation when he told Maina to look at the complaint, which dragged him to trial.
The judge later continued his judgment when he ordered the defendant to be remanded in prison custody.
October 25, 2019