Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, the fugitive son of former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, and handed him over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the enforcement of his prison sentence.
Security sources disclosed that Faisal, who had been on the run since 2020, was apprehended in the Karsana area of Abuja following intelligence reports that he had secretly returned to Nigeria.
According to the sources, DSS operatives tracked and arrested him after receiving credible information about his whereabouts.
Faisal was prosecuted by the EFCC on charges bordering on money laundering and conspiracy. However, he jumped bail and fled the country while his trial was ongoing.
Despite his absence, the trial continued, and in 2021, Justice Okon Abang convicted him and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment.
In its judgment, the court ordered that Faisal be arrested wherever he was found within Nigeria and remanded in a correctional facility to serve his sentence. The court also directed the Federal Government to initiate lawful extradition proceedings should he be located outside the country.
Sources said the transfer of the fugitive to the EFCC is expected to facilitate the implementation of the court’s judgment and ensure that he serves the jail term imposed on him.
The arrest marks a significant development in efforts to enforce the court’s ruling and bring the long-running case involving the former pension reform official’s family to a legal conclusion.
