Olusola Bello
Former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, has been sentenced to 8 years imprisonment.
Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja handed Maina the jail sentence, in a ruling on Monday.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had arraigned Maina and his son, Faisal, on charges of operating fictitious bank accounts, corruption, and money laundering, to the tune of N2bn.
His firm, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd., also standing trial, was found guilty.
Justice Abang said there was uncontroverted evidence that Maina had at a period that pension funds were stolen, paid in over N1.5million, N500m and N300m, into five bank accounts that were traced to him.
He said there was no explanation from the 1st Defendant about where the money, which was above his legitimate earnings, came from.
The trial judge held that Defendant, whose monthly salary was about N250, 000, could not have been able to save over an N2billion, within the 30 days period that the deposits were made.
“Judgement is hereby entered in favour of the Prosecution and the Defendant is accordingly convicted”, he held.
At this juncture, Maina’s lawyer, Mr Olusegun Jolawon, SAN, begged the court for leniency.
“I beg my lord to give the Defendant a second chance by not bringing down the full weight of the law. Defendant obviously made some mistakes and he is very remorseful about them. He is the breadwinner of both his nuclear and extended family.
“Moreover, there is documentary evidence that he is seriously sick. Nobody is immune to illness”, the defence lawyer added.
Likewise, Maina while addressing the court by himself, apologized for his past conduct.
He said: “My lord, I want to apologise for anything I may have done, with or without my intention. It was all adduced to me.
“I was never opportune to be in the witness box, if not, you would have heard a lot of things”, Maina stated, saying he has three different tumours in his body and would need to undergo a medical operation urgently.
After he had listened to the Allocutus (plea for mercy) by both Maina and his lawyer, Justice Abang said the facts of the case was “sordid, immoral and dirty”.
“Facts of this case portray the moral decadence of the society we live in. Having considered the monumental fraud, about how pensioners’ funds were stolen.
“It is a clear case that the convict is inhuman, heartless and had no compassion for the pensioners. Some of them have suffered, others have died while waiting to get their reward on earth.
“Whereas the convict was feeding fat from their sweat in faraway Dubai, buying properties, driving bulletproof cars that were beyond his legitimate earnings.
“Abnormal situation requires drastic action to send a message to those that believe in dishonesty, to have a rethink”, he added.
The court maintained that FG ought to have withdrawn the operating licenses of the two banks it noted connived with the convict to steal pension funds to the tune of over an N2.1billion.
EFCC had in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/256/2019, alleged that Maina used a bank account that was operated by his firm and laundered funds, part of which he used to acquire landed properties in Abuja.
It told the court that the 1st Defendant (Maina) used fictitious names to open and operate various bank accounts, as well as recruited his relatives that were bankers to operate fake bank accounts through which illicit funds were channelled.
