I Am Not Guilty Of 12 Counts Charges Preferred Against Me By EFCC-Maina

By Bimbo Ogunnaike

Former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team(PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, has told a Federal High Court in Abuja he was not guilty to the 12 counts preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

This arraignment is coming after Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo ordered the forfeiture of 23 property linked to Maina, following an ex parte motion filed by the EFCC.

EFCC’s motion was supported by a 30-paragraph affidavit which it brought pursuant to section 17 of Anti-money Laundering Act.

The commission was set to arraign Maina and his son, Faisal, on separate cases before Justice Okon Abang of the aforementioned court.

The Department of State Services (DSS) had, on 30 September, 2019,  arrested Maina and his son at an Abuja hotel and subsequently handed them over to the EFCC on 2 October for further investigation and prosecution on allegations of fraud and money laundering to the tune of N2.1 billion.

The Federal Civil Service Commission dismissed him in 2013 for “absconding from duty” but he returned to the country in 2017 and was reinstated as a director in the interior ministry.