A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Faisal Maina, son of former Pension Reform Task Team chairman Abdulrasheed Maina, to begin serving his prison sentence for money laundering and failure to disclose his assets fully.
Justice James Omotosho issued the directive on Thursday after granting an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), seeking a warrant to commit Faisal to a correctional facility.
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The commission had asked the court to enforce the conviction and sentences imposed on him, with the prison term calculated from October 14, 2026, when he was rearrested by operatives of the Department of State Services in the Karsana area of Abuja.
Faisal was subsequently handed over to the EFCC, approximately six years after jumping bail and abandoning his trial.
Following an application moved by the EFCC’s counsel, M.K. Hussain, Justice Omotosho granted the request and issued the committal warrant.
The judge directed that Faisal serve three years’ imprisonment on the first count, seven years on the second count and three years on the third count.
The sentences, which are to run concurrently, were imposed in line with the Court of Appeal’s judgment delivered on November 24, 2022. They will take effect from the date of his rearrest.
Faisal was initially arraigned in 2019 on a three-count charge involving money laundering and failure to make full disclosure of his assets in a declaration form.
He pleaded not guilty before Justice Okon Abang, who previously presided over the case.
However, he later stopped attending court proceedings after jumping bail, prompting the trial judge to continue the case in his absence.
On October 7, 2021, Justice Abang convicted him and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment on the first and third counts, and 14 years on the second count.
The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
The court also directed that he should be arrested wherever he was found and transferred to a correctional centre to serve his sentence.
Although the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, it reviewed the prison terms in its November 24, 2022 judgment.
The appellate court reduced the sentences to three years on counts one and three, and seven years on count two, with all terms running concurrently.
Faisal’s father, Abdulrasheed Maina, was separately convicted in a money laundering case involving approximately N2bn.
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He has since completed his prison sentence.
Peculiar Adirika is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
