Court remands Maina’s son to begin 7-year money laundering jail term

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the remand of Faisal Maina, son of the former Pension Reform Task Team Chairman, to a correctional facility to commence his seven-year jail term for money laundering.

Justice James Omotosho issued the committal warrant on Thursday after an ex parte application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The anti-graft agency sought the directive after operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) apprehended the convict in the Karsana area of Abuja on October 14, 2026.

Faisal was handed over to the EFCC after operating as a fugitive for six years. He originally jumped bail during his 2019 trial before Justice Okon Abang, who subsequently tried and convicted him in absentia on a three-count charge of money laundering and failure to fully disclose his assets.

Ruling on the application moved by EFCC counsel M.K. Hussain, Justice Omotosho said that the prison term must commence from the date of the convict’s rearrest.

According to the court’s directive, Faisal will serve three years on count one, seven years on count two, and three years on count three. The sentences are to run concurrently in accordance with a November 24, 2022, judgment by the Court of Appeal which reduced his initial 14-year conviction.

His father, Abdulrasheed Maina, was separately tried and convicted in a two billion naira money laundering case, a prison sentence he has since completed.