Maina’s Son, Faisal, Bags 14 Years Jail Term for Money Laundering

By Alex Enumah

Justice Okon Abang of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court Thursday handed down a 14-year jail term to Faisal, a son of the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reformed Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina.

Justice Abang handed down the sentence after convicting Faisal on all three-count criminal charge preferred against him by the federal government.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in 2019 arraigned Faisal before a Federal High Court on a three-count charge bordering on fraud and money laundering.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was admitted to bail in the sum of N60 million with a surety in like sum who must be a member of House of Representatives.

The sentencing, which was made in absentia, is coming two years after Faisal and his father were first arraigned on corruption charges, although their trial was later separated.

The court in count two sentenced Faisal to 14 years after finding him guilty on allegations of money laundering.

The court however handed down five years jail term each on counts one and three respectively.

The sentencing are to however run concurrently, according to the judge.

Justice Abang had on July 16, fixed October 7, 2021 for judgment after EFCC’s lawyer, Mohammed Abubakar, adopted his final written address and urged the court to find the defendant guilty in all the three-count charge.

However, Faisal’s lawyer, Mr A. A . Onoja, who did not file any final written address, had sought for an adjournment on the grounds that he was not briefed on the development in the case.

Responding, Abubakar had objected to the request for adjournment, claiming that when the case was adjourned on March 17, one Anayo Adibe, who appeared for Faisal, did not apply to file any written address, even after the ruling was delivered, adding that: “Four months since that day, the defence has not done anything.”

In a short ruling, Justice Abang dismissed the request for adjournment because he said it was made in bad faith.

Faisal had jumped his bail around September 2020 and stopped attending his trial.

Subsequently, Justice Abang revoked his bail, ordered his arrest and directed that his trial should proceed in absentia.

The judge also ordered the surety to forfeit the property which he used as a bail bond to the federal government, having failed to produce Faisal in court to continue his trial.