A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, son of former Pension Reform Task Team chairman Abdulrasheed Maina, to be taken to a correctional centre to serve his prison sentence following his re-arrest, six years after he fled trial.
Justice James Omotosho issued the order on Thursday after granting an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The commission approached the court for a warrant directing the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) to take custody of Faisal and enforce the judgment against him for money laundering and failure to fully disclose his assets in an asset declaration form.
Faisal was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on October 14 in the Karsana area of Abuja. His arrest ended a prolonged period on the run after he jumped bail and stopped attending court proceedings in the case.
He was subsequently handed over to the EFCC.
In its application, the anti-graft agency also asked the court to direct that his prison sentence should take effect from October 14, 2026, the date he was arrested.
After EFCC counsel, M.K. Hussain, presented the application, Justice Omotosho granted the requests and issued the warrant for Faisal’s transfer to a correctional facility.
The judge directed that Faisal serve three years’ imprisonment on count one, seven years on count two, and another three years on count three, in accordance with the Court of Appeal’s judgment delivered on November 24, 2022.
All three sentences are to run concurrently, meaning Faisal will serve the longest of the terms rather than the combined total. His sentence will run from October 14, 2026, the date of his re-arrest.
How Faisal Maina’s legal troubles unfolded
Faisal’s conviction dates back to a criminal trial that began in 2019, when he was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a three-count charge involving money laundering and failure to make a full declaration of his assets.
He pleaded not guilty before Justice Okon Abang, who presided over the case at the time.
However, the trial took a different turn after Faisal jumped bail and stopped appearing in court. Despite his absence, the court proceeded with the case and eventually convicted him on October 7, 2021.
Justice Abang sentenced him to five years in prison on counts one and three, while imposing a 14-year term on count two. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
The court also directed that Faisal be arrested wherever he was found and taken to a correctional centre to begin serving his sentence.
Faisal challenged the judgment, but the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction in its decision of November 24, 2022. It, however, reduced the sentences, replacing the five-year terms on counts one and three with three years each, while cutting the 14-year sentence on count two to seven years.
That appellate decision remains the basis for the prison terms Justice Omotosho has now ordered the correctional authorities to enforce.
His father’s conviction
Faisal’s case also comes against the backdrop of his father’s own legal troubles.
Abdulrasheed Maina, the former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, was convicted in a separate money laundering case involving approximately N2 billion.
He was subsequently sentenced to prison and has since completed his jail term.