THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), wanted.
The anti-graft agency made the declaration in a brief notice on Wednesday, September 23, asking the public with information about his whereabouts to contact the commission.
Maina, who has previously been declared wanted by the EFCC over alleged pension fraud, was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison in November 2021 for money laundering involving more than N2 billion.
A Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by a judge, Okon Abang, found Maina guilty of six counts in a 12-count charge filed by the EFCC.
The court found that Maina stole more than N2 billion belonging to pensioners and concealed his identity as a signatory to accounts opened with United Bank for Africa and Fidelity Bank.
The court also found him guilty of purchasing an Abuja property for $1.4 million in cash, above the statutory threshold for cash transactions.
The ICIR reported at the time that Maina was sentenced to eight years, although the individual sentences on the counts totalled 61 years because they were ordered to run concurrently.
The court also ordered Maina and his company, Common Input Property and Investment Limited, to forfeit about N2.1 billion traced to their accounts to the Federal Government. His properties in Abuja were also ordered forfeited.
Maina’s return after fleeing trial
Maina’s case had attracted national attention several years before his conviction.
In 2017, the EFCC declared him wanted over allegations bordering on procurement fraud and obtaining money by false pretences in connection with an alleged N2 billion pension biometric scam.
At the time, the commission said Maina was at large after charges had been filed against his alleged accomplices and appealed to the public to provide information on his whereabouts.
Despite being wanted, Maina returned to Nigeria in 2017 and was reinstated into the federal civil service.
Media reports at the time showed that the Federal Civil Service Commission approved his reinstatement with effect from February 21, 2013, the date he had earlier been dismissed. He was also cleared to sit for a promotion examination for the position of director.
His return triggered a political controversy, with the Presidency, the Ministry of Interior and other government officials offering different explanations over how his reinstatement was approved.
Maina later left Nigeria again while facing prosecution.
He was eventually arrested in Niger Republic and brought back to Nigeria to continue his trial. The EFCC said his absence from court had led to legal steps to secure his arrest.
Conviction and appeal
After his conviction in November 2021, Maina challenged the judgment at the Court of Appeal.
In May 2023, the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld both his conviction and eight-year prison sentence. A three-member panel held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and rejected Maina’s claim that he had been denied a fair hearing.
Maina was consequently kept in custody at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
However, his eight-year term did not mean he would necessarily spend eight full years in prison.
The Nigerian Correctional Service said Maina’s sentence was deemed to have commenced from October 25, 2019, the date of his arrest/arraignment. It later said he qualified for statutory remission because of good conduct and industry in prison.
The service said Maina was released on February 25, 2025, about four years after his conviction.
Separate N738.6m case still pending
Meanwhile, Maina’s release did not end all the criminal proceedings against him as he is also facing a separate nine-count case before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja over allegations involving N738.6 million.
The EFCC alleged that Maina and Ann Igwe Olachi received stolen funds connected to purported biometric enrolment contracts for pensioners.
The case is still ongoing, with Maina’s defence challenging the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court and arguing that the prosecution amounts to an abuse of court process and exposes him to double jeopardy.
In February 2026, the court threatened to revoke Maina’s bail over delays in the proceedings.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M