Court Orders Faisal Maina to Serve Seven-Year Jail Term After Re-arrest

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Faisal Maina, son of former pension reform boss Abdulrasheed Maina, to be taken to a correctional centre to serve his seven-year prison sentence.

Justice James Omotosho issued the order after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed an ex parte motion moved by its lawyer, M.K. Hussain.

Faisal was reportedly re-arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) on October 14, 2026, and handed over to the EFCC after jumping bail and staying away from his trial for about six years.

He was initially arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja in 2019 on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering and failure to make full disclosure in an asset declaration form.

His trial proceeded in his absence, and in October 2021, Justice Okon Abang convicted him and imposed prison terms of five years on counts one and three, and 14 years on count two.

The sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The court also directed that he be arrested wherever he was found and taken to a correctional centre to serve his sentence.

However, in November 2022, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction but reduced the sentences, ruling that the trial court should not have imposed the maximum punishment on a first-time offender.

In line with the appellate court’s judgment of November 24, 2022, Justice Omotosho ordered that Faisal serve three years on count one, seven years on count two and three years on count three, with all sentences running concurrently.

The court directed that the sentence should run from October 14, 2026, when he was re-arrested.

The case involved allegations that Faisal operated a fictitious account with United Bank for Africa (UBA), through which his father allegedly laundered N58.1 million.

The funds were reportedly paid into an account bearing the name “Alhaji Faisal Farm 2” and withdrawn by Faisal and his father between October 2013 and June 2019.

Abdulrasheed Maina, who formerly chaired the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, was also convicted in a separate N2 billion money laundering case and has reportedly served his prison sentence.

With the latest order, Faisal is expected to begin serving the seven-year sentence following his re-arrest, bringing an end to years of proceedings conducted in his absence.