Court orders Maina’s son to serve seven-year jail term

…..Faisal to serve sentence concurrently from October 14 re-arrest

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of Faisal Maina, son of former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, in a correctional centre to serve his seven-year jail term for money laundering.

Justice James Omotosho made the order on Thursday after granting an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The commission had asked the court to issue a warrant committing Faisal to the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) to enforce the judgment convicting him of money laundering and failure to make full disclosure in an asset declaration form.

Faisal was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on October 14 in the Karsana area of Abuja, about six years after he jumped bail and absconded from trial. He was subsequently handed over to the EFCC.

In its application, the commission also sought an order directing that his prison sentence should commence from October 14, the date of his re-arrest.

After the EFCC’s lawyer, M.K. Hussain, moved the application, Justice Omotosho granted the reliefs sought and issued a warrant for Faisal’s commitment to a correctional centre.

The judge ordered that, in line with the Court of Appeal’s judgment of November 24, 2022, Faisal should serve three years’ imprisonment on count one, seven years on count two and three years on count three.

The sentences are to run concurrently, beginning from October 14, 2026, when he was re-arrested.

Faisal was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja in 2019 on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering and failure to fully disclose his assets.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges before Justice Okon Abang, who was then presiding over the case, but later jumped bail and stopped attending court proceedings.

Following his disappearance, Abang proceeded with the trial in his absence and convicted him on October 7, 2021.

The court initially sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment on counts one and three, and 14 years on count two, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Abang also ordered that Faisal be arrested wherever he was found and taken to a correctional centre to serve his sentence.

However, the Court of Appeal subsequently upheld the conviction but reduced the sentences in its judgment delivered on November 24, 2022, to three years on counts one and three, and seven years on count two.

Faisal’s father, Abdulrasheed, was also convicted in a separate money laundering case involving about N2 billion. He has since completed his prison term.

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