FCT: Court summons Magu, Malami, Falana, others over Maina’s trial

THE protracted fraud case of former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, which has spanned five years, took another dimension today as a Federal High Court in Abuja summoned some eminent Nigerians across almost all walks of life to appear before it.

Those summoned are: the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, prominent lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN).

Others summoned include: the Director of Compliance, Central Bank of Nigeria; an official of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Ibrahim Kaigama; a representative of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, G.T Idris; and a former Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Wakil.

Also summoned are: Hassan Salihu of the ICPC and M. Mustapha of Zenith Bank Plc.

The summons, read in part, “You are commanded in the name of the President and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to attend before this court… to give evidence on behalf of the 1st defendant (Maina)”. 

Maina was an assistant director before he was appointed in 2010 by former President Goodluck Jonathan to head the pension reform task force.

But in 2012, he was accused of leading a massive pension fraud scheme amounting to more than N100 billion, and in 2013, he was dismissed by the Federal Civil Service Commission following a recommendation by the Office of the Head of Service.

Maina was invited by the Senate Joint Committee on Public Service and Establishment and State and Local Government Administration. Later, an arrest warrant was issued against him by the joint Senate panel.

He ignored the panel and went ahead to sue the Senate and Mohammed Abubakar, the then Inspector-General of Police, The police subsequently declared him wanted and he went into hiding.

In July 2015, Maina was charged by the EFCC alongside Stephen Oronsaye and two others before a Federal High Court on 24 counts of procurement fraud and obtaining by false pretence.

Oronsaye and the two other accused appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charge, but Maina remained at large and was declared wanted by the EFCC.

Maina fled to the United Arab Emirates from where he kept lobbying officials of the Buhari administration.

While at UAE, he met with senior officials of the Buhari government including the attorney-general.He later returned secretly into the country and was promoted to director at the Ministry of Interior. 

Following public outcry, he was dismissed again and arraigned before Justice Okon Abang and is currently facing trial for alleged N2bn fraud.

Meanwhile, there are insinuations that Maina may have opened a can of worms during one of his many interrogations.