Maina’s son, Faisal, arrested after six years on the run

Fugitive Faisal Maina, son of ex-convict Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), has reportedly been arrested, six years after jumping bail.

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TheCable reports that the State Security Service (SSS, also known as DSS) arrested Faisal and handed him over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He was reportedly arrested following intelligence indicating that he had secretly returned to Nigeria.

“His arrest followed credible intelligence which indicated that Faisal had secretly returned to the country,” a source told the publication.

According to the paper, SSS operatives tracked and arrested Faisal in the Karsana area of Abuja before transferring him to the EFCC.

Faisal has been on the run since 2020, after the EFCC arraigned him on three counts bordering on money laundering.

Although he was granted bail, he breached his bail conditions and fled the country.

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Both the SSS media unit and the EFCC spokesperson have not responded to PREMIUM TIMES’ requests for comment on the matter.

PREMIUM TIMES will provide more updates in subsequent reports.

Background

Faisal’s trial continued in his absence and culminated in his conviction by the Federal High Court in Abuja in October 2021. The court sentenced him to 14 years’ imprisonment on money laundering charges.

The trial judge, Okong Abang, held that the EFCC established that Faisal operated a fictitious United Bank for Africa (UBA) account through which his father allegedly laundered N58.1 million.

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According to the court, the funds were deposited into an account operated in the name of “Alhaji Faisal Farm 2” and subsequently withdrawn by Faisal and his father between October 2013 and June 2019.

In November 2022, the Court of Appeal upheld Faisal’s conviction but reduced his sentence from 14 years to seven years. The appellate court held that the trial court should not have imposed the maximum sentence on a first-time offender.

His father, Mr Maina, served an eight-year prison sentence at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja for laundering N2 billion in pension funds.

He was released earlier this year, but has since been declared wanted over an alleged case of receiving stolen property.