The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, son of former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, and handed him over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Faisal was reportedly arrested in the Karsana area of Abuja after security operatives received intelligence indicating that he had secretly returned to Nigeria. He had been on the run since 2020 after allegedly violating the bail conditions imposed during his money laundering trial.
According to security sources, the arrest followed intelligence-led tracking by DSS operatives. His transfer to the EFCC is expected to facilitate the enforcement of the court judgment in his case.
The EFCC had prosecuted Faisal on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering and related offences. His trial continued in his absence after he stopped attending court proceedings.
On October 7, 2021, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted him and sentenced him to 14 years’ imprisonment, with the terms to run concurrently.
The court found that Faisal operated an account in the name of Alhaji Faisal Farm 2 through which N58.1 million was allegedly laundered. The funds were reportedly deposited into the account and subsequently withdrawn by Faisal and his father between October 2013 and June 2019.
However, the Court of Appeal upheld Faisal’s conviction in November 2022 but reduced his prison sentence from 14 years to seven years, ruling that the trial court had imposed an excessive sentence on a first-time offender.
READ MORE: FG Approves New Eastern-Western Grid to Curb Power Collapses
Following his conviction, the court ordered that Faisal be arrested wherever he was found in Nigeria and taken into custody to serve his sentence. It also directed the Federal Government to take lawful steps to secure his extradition if he was located outside the country.
His reported arrest in Abuja therefore brings him back within the reach of Nigerian law enforcement authorities after years on the run.
A security source said the handover to the EFCC was expected to facilitate the enforcement of the court’s judgment in accordance with the law.
The authorities have yet to provide further public details on the arrangements for enforcing the sentence following his arrest.
