Alleged N738.6m Fraud: Court Threatens To Revoke Maina’s Bail
By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory High Court, Asokoro, has threatened to revoke the bail of Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, over repeated attempts to stall his trial on alleged N738.6 million fraud charges.
Justice Abubakar Kutigi issued the warning on Thursday after the defence presented a hospital referral note and sought an adjournment, a move the judge described as another delay tactic.
The court noted that proceedings had been stalled for about four years due to the defendant’s conduct, adding that Maina was last physically present in court four years ago.
TheFact Daily notes that Maina reportedly collapsed on Tuesday near his office in Abuja. According to his media aide, Emmanuel Nweke, who confirmed the incident, Maina lost consciousness after falling while trying to enter the office premises.
He explained that Maina lost his footing on the staircase, fell, and hit his head, an incident he attributed to complications arising from a long-standing knee injury that had not been treated.
At Thursday’s proceedings, the judge rejected the adjournment request and disclosed that he had secured an undertaking from the defence to proceed with the trial henceforth, whether or not Maina appears in court.
Following the ruling, prosecution counsel, Francis Usani, called the 14th prosecution witness, Gogi Mohammed, an EFCC investigator, who continued his testimony.
He told the court that investigations revealed how pension funds were allegedly siphoned through fictitious contracts, allowances and biometric enrolment exercises, using officials of the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation.
Mohammed testified that a relative of Maina, Maimuna Usman, was arrested in Kaduna and found to be keeping documents for over 30 properties allegedly belonging to the defendant, mostly in Abuja and Kaduna.
He said some of the properties were purchased with cash, including payments of $2 million for a Jabi property and $1.7 million for another in Life Camp, Abuja.
The witness further alleged that contracts for biometric enrolment were inflated at Maina’s instance, with proceeds allegedly funneled back to him through intermediaries.
He said about N250 million was allegedly returned to Maina in tranches via post-dated cheques.
The witness also identified extra-judicial statements made by the defendants, but the defence objected to their admissibility, claiming they were obtained under duress.
The court adjourned the case to February 20 and 26 for trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of the statements.
Maina and his co-defendant, Ann Igwe Olachi, were arraigned in 2019 on a nine-count charge of receiving stolen funds totalling N738.6 million, to which they both pleaded not guilty.
