Maina jailed for stealing over N2 billion belonging to pensioners

A former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, has been found guilty and jailed on charges bordering on money laundering.

He had been charged with a series of misconducts including operating fictitious bank accounts, corruption, and money laundering to the tune of N2.1 billion.

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja found him guilty and sentenced him to eight years in prison in a ruling delivered on Monday, November 8, 2021.

The judge ruled that the former official stole funds meant for pensioners, denying them of the fruits of their labour.

Maina was found to have concealed his true identity when he induced officials in Fidelity Bank and the United Bank for Africa to open accounts for him using the identity of his family members.

Two of the accounts had cash deposits of N300 million, N500 million and N1.5 billion, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who filed charges against him.

He was also found guilty of purchasing a property in Abuja for which he paid with $1.4 million cash, without passing through a financial institution.

In addition to the jail sentence, Justice Abang ordered Maina and his firm, Common Input Property and Investment Limited, to restitute about N2.1 billion traced to their bank accounts back to the Federal Government.

The convict's jail term will run from October 25, 2019 when he was first taken into custody.