The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Faisal Maina, son of former Pension Reform Task Team chairman, Abdulrasheed Maina, to begin serving his seven-year prison sentence for money laundering.
Justice James Omotosho gave the directive on Thursday after granting an ex parte motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for a warrant committing Faisal to the Nigeria Correctional Service.
The EFCC had approached the court to enforce the conviction and sentences earlier handed down against him for money laundering and failure to make full disclosure of his assets in a declaration form.
The commission further requested that the jail term should take effect from October 14, 2026, when the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested Faisal in the Karsana area of Abuja.
He was subsequently transferred to the EFCC, bringing to an end nearly six years of evading trial after jumping bail.
Ruling on the application moved by EFCC counsel, M.K. Hussain, Justice Omotosho approved the request and ordered his immediate commitment to a correctional facility.
The court directed that Faisal should serve three years for the first count, seven years for the second count and three years for the third count.
The sentences, as stipulated in the Court of Appeal's judgment of November 24, 2022, are to run concurrently, with October 14, 2026, fixed as the commencement date.
Faisal was first arraigned in 2019 on a three-count charge of money laundering and failure to properly declare his assets. He pleaded not guilty to the charges before Justice Okon Abang.
However, he later jumped bail and stopped attending court proceedings. Following his disappearance, Justice Abang proceeded with the trial in his absence.
On October 7, 2021, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment on counts one and three, and 14 years on count two.
The sentences were to run concurrently, while the judge ordered that he be arrested wherever he was found and taken to a correctional centre to serve his punishment.
Faisal subsequently challenged the judgment, but the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction while reducing the sentences.
In its November 24, 2022 ruling, the appellate court reduced the terms on counts one and three from five years each to three years, while the sentence on count two was reduced from 14 years to seven years.
His father, Abdulrasheed Maina, who headed the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, was also convicted in a separate money laundering case involving about N2bn.
The former pension boss has since completed his prison sentence.
Leave a Reply