ABDULRASHEED Maina, the alleged pension thief, is to remain in jail until the end of his trial, the Honourable Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered on Friday.
Maina, Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team (PRTT), was brought before the court on Friday following his extradition to Nigeria from the Republic of Niger on Thursday, December 3, 2020.
Justice Abang gave the order for Maina’s remand until the end of his trial following an application by the EFCC’s prosecution counsel, Mohammed Abubakar. The EFCC is prosecuting Maina on several counts of money laundering charges before he jumped bail and fled Nigeria to the Republic of Niger where he was arrested last weekend by a combination of security and intelligence operatives of both countries.
Justice Abang, while ruling on EFCC’s application for a remand order, said: “The defendant is already on bench warrant having jumped bail.”
Justice Abang also acceded to Maina’s new counsel, Adaji Abel, who took over the defence on Friday, who pleaded to the judge to adjourn the case to enable him to prepare adequately. Justice Abang adjourned the matter to Tuesday, December 8, 2020 for continuation of hearing.
