The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has declared former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, wanted over an alleged case of receiving stolen property, adding a fresh and significant chapter to the 61-year-old former government official’s long-running legal troubles.

The EFCC announced the development in Abuja on Wednesday through a wanted notice signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale.

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The notice identified Maina as an indigene of Biu, Borno State, and appealed to members of the public with information about his whereabouts to contact the commission or other security agencies.

“The public is hereby notified that Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of Receiving Stolen Properties,” the commission said in the notice.

The latest alert is particularly notable because it comes months after Maina was released from Kuje Correctional Centre, where he had been serving a prison sentence arising from an earlier money-laundering conviction.

The Nigerian Correctional Service said Maina was released on February 25, 2025, after receiving statutory remission for good conduct in custody.

Reports in January 2026 said the Nigerian Correctional Service gave the explanation in response to a Freedom of Information request from a newspaper and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Maina’s earlier case stemmed from a 12-count money-laundering prosecution brought by the EFCC in 2019.

The Federal High Court in Abuja convicted him in November 2021, imposing concurrent prison terms that amounted effectively to eight years and ordering financial forfeitures connected to the case.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja subsequently upheld the conviction and eight-year sentence in May 2023. A three-member panel found no basis to overturn the Federal High Court’s decision and held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The history behind the new wanted notice, however, extends beyond that conviction.

Maina is also facing a separate criminal proceeding before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Asokoro, Abuja, where the EFCC is prosecuting him alongside Ann Igwe Olachi on a nine-count charge concerning the alleged receipt of stolen funds amounting to ₦738,612,019.99.

The defendants were arraigned in 2019 and pleaded not guilty. Proceedings in that matter continued into 2026, although the case encountered repeated delays.

In February, Justice Abubakar Kutigi warned that Maina’s bail could be revoked amid concerns about his repeated absence and delays in the proceedings.

Justice Kutigi also expressed frustration over the succession of lawyers and applications that had affected the pace of the trial.

TheCable reported that the judge said he had “lost count” of the number of lawyers who had appeared for Maina.

Maina, through his legal team, has challenged the continuation of the ₦738.6 million case.

In February 2026, his counsel argued that the proceedings amounted to double jeopardy and asked the FCT High Court to quash the charge and decline jurisdiction. The allegation remains before the court and has not resulted in a conviction.

The new EFCC declaration therefore represents another legal development rather than a reversal of the earlier conviction.

The commission’s present notice specifically cites an alleged case of receiving stolen property, while the separate ₦738.6 million proceedings remain subject to judicial determination.

The EFCC has asked anyone with credible information about Maina’s whereabouts to contact its offices in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Benin, Makurdi, Ilorin, Enugu, Gombe and Port Harcourt.

The agency also provided a telephone contact and urged members of the public to approach the nearest police station or other security agencies.

Maina’s return to the EFCC’s wanted list places renewed public attention on a case that has moved through prosecution, conviction, appeal, imprisonment and a separate unresolved criminal proceeding.

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For now, the fresh allegation remains an allegation, and any criminal liability arising from it will depend on the outcome of the relevant legal process.