Son, Faisal arrested
Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman, Pensions Reform Task Team (PRTT), collapsed in court on Thursday as his trial resumed at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The drama began when Anayo Adibe, counsel to Maina, told the presiding judge, Justice Okon Abang, of the Federal High Court, that he would be unable to continue with his client’s no-case submission motion today, because he was yet to receive the record of proceedings of the court since Maina’s arraignment.
But, Justice Abang told Adibe that it was his duty to get the record of proceedings, which had already been processed, from the registry rather than waiting for the registrar to look for him.
However, as the registrar was reading out the proceedings, that were ready for collection, Maina, who was sitting beside the dock, slumped, causing confusion in the courtroom.
Maina was hurriedly rushed out of the courtroom by Nigerian Correctional Centre officers, as Justice Abang suspended the proceedings.
As at the time of filing this report, the former pensions reform chairman was still being attended to by court assigned medical officers.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Maina had, through his counsel, told the court on Wednesday that he had no case to answer in the allegations levied against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Maina, had earlier told Justice Abang, shortly after counsel to the EFCC, Farouk Abdullah, had closed the commission’s case, that he would be filing a no-case submission.
NAN recalled that Maina was first arraigned before Justice Abang, on 25 Oct., 2019, by the EFCC, alongside his firm, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd, on a 12-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N2 billion, allegations that he denied.
On Nov. 18, Justice Abang ordered Maina’s arrest following his refusal to appear in court since Sept. 29 when his case resumed.
Sen. Ali Ndume (APC – Borno), who stood surety for Maina, was remanded in prison custody on Nov. 23, for failure to produce him in court, but was granted bail five days after, on grounds of his good conduct.
Maina was, however, produced in court on Dec. 4, by security operatives after he was arrested in neighbouring Niger Republic and extradited to Nigeria.
At Wednesday’s sitting, Maina’s counsel told the court that he would be filing a no-case application in accordance with Sections 302 and 303 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, arguing that the evidence tendered by the prosecution was insufficient to justify the trial of his client.
In a related development, Faisal, son of the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, Maina, has been arrested.
Recall that Faisal was declared wanted by the Federal High Court in Abuja after he jumped bail since June 24.
The EFCC, confirmed to the court on Thursday that Faisal was apprehended by security operatives on Wednesday night.
Faisal is facing a three-count money laundering charge the anti-graft agency preferred against him.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, counsel to the surety, Mr. M. E. Sheriff, urged the court to suspend the hearing of the forfeiture case against his client given the arrest of the Defendant.
He said: “My lord, I was reliably informed that the Defendant had been arrested. He was arrested last night, and he is in custody”.
However, EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Farouk Abdullah, told the court that the Defendant is not in their custody yet.
“We got information unofficially that he has been arrested”, the Prosecution counsel added.
In his ruling, Justice Abang dismissed the adjournment request and ordered the surety to move the application he filed to show cause why he should not forfeit the bail bond to FG.
