10th December, 2020
Faisal Maina, the son of the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reformed Taskforce Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, was arrested on Wednesday night.
Mr. M. E. Sheriff, his surety’s lawyer, confirmed this to Justice Okon Abang on Thursday.
Faisal who is being prosecuted in a separate three-count money laundering case had jumped bail and stopped attending trial which had continued in his absence.
Justice Okon Abang on November 24, 2020, revoked the bail granted him and ordered his arrest.
The judge also ordered the fleeing defendant’s surety, who is a member of the House of Representatives representing Kaura-Namoda Federal Constituency, Umar Dan-Galadima, to appear in court.
But at the resumed hearing in the case on Thursday, surety’s lawyer, Mr. M. E. Sheriff, urged the court to suspend the hearing of the forfeiture proceedings.
Sheriff disclosed that he got information that Faisal had been arrested.
“My lord, I was reliably informed that the Defendant had been arrested. He was arrested last night and he is in custody,” the lawyer said.
However, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Faruk Abdullah, confirmed the development but said the defendant had not been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Faisal Maina’s arrest came barely one week after his father had jumped bail in his ongoing N2bn money laundering trial at the Federal Court in Abuja was re-arrested in the Republic of Niger and brought back to the court.