October 07, (THEWILL) – The Federal High court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Okon Abang, has sentenced Faisal, son of Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Force Team, to 14 years in prison.
Faisal, who is standing trial on charges of money laundering, had jumped bail refusing to attend trial since November 24, 2020.
Delivering judgement on Thursday, the court found Faisal guilty on a three-count money laundering charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
It held that the anti-graft agency successfully established that Faisal operated a fictitious bank account with the United Bank for Africa, UBA, through which his father, Maina, laundered the sum of N58.1million.
The court noted that the said fund which was deposited into the account that was operated in the name of Alhaji Faisal Farm 2, was sequentially withdrawn by the Defendant and his father, between October 2013 and June 2019.
Justice Abang said he was satisfied that the EFCC proved all the essential ingredients of the charge, stressing that the Defendant reasonably ought to have known that inflows into the bank account formed proceeds of an unlawful act of corruption by his father.
For Count 1, Justice Abang ordered that he be jailed for five years. In count two, he was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment with effect from today.
The court also ordered that Faisal returns to the Federal Government the sum of N58.1m and the company used to wind up.
For count three, he was jailed for five years. The court held that the terms would run concurrently.
Justice Abang further ordered the Federal Government to arrest Faisal wherever he is found in Nigeria and commit him to a correctional Center. But if arrested outside Nigeria, the FG has been asked to lawfully extradite him to face his sentence.
The court ordered that the company through which the fund was laundered, Alhaji Faisal Farm 2, be wound up, with funds in it forfeited to the government.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on February 24 alerted the court that Faisal was on the run to the United States Of America (USA).
Lawyer to the anti-graft agency, Mohammed Abubakar, had said from the information at the disposal of the commission, that Faisal Maina sneaked to the USA through the Republic of Niger despite his Nigerian and American passports still with the registry of the court.
âWe have a bench warrant of the court for the arrest of the defendant and his apprehension before the court.
âWe have been making serious efforts to execute the bench warrant but it has met challenges. The defendant has absconded to the USA”, the EFCC lawyer told the court.
Faisal Mainaâs lawyer, Anayo Adibe, however, disputed the claim of the prosecution as he insists that his client was arrested by the Nigeria Police Force in Sokoto.
He urged the court to open an inquiry as to the true whereabouts of his client.
