Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), has leaked a letter he wrote in 2015 to Bukola Saraki, Senate President, wherein he accused the seventh senate of aiding and abetting pension thieves in the country.

The authenticity of the leaked letter was confirmed by Messrs Mamman Nadir & Co., the law firm representing Maina, whose office is located at 36 Ali Akilu Road, Kaduna.

Maina claimed that the PRTT, which he chaired between 2010 and 2013, discovered that over N3 trillion pension fund was stolen in 97 pension offices, adding that the team recovered N1.6 trillion in cash and assets from pension thieves.

The letter was titled: Pension Reform Task Team: Appeal for Review of Investigation by Senate Joint Committee on Establishment and Public Service and States and Local Government Administration 2011 – 2013.

In the letter, dated June 19, 2015, Maina asked Saraki to review his case and investigate the various actions taken against him by “people bent on intimidating me to submission”.

“We, members of Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) wish to use this medium to apologise for our late response to reaching back to you,” Maina’s letter read in part.

“We had to put the issues together and source appurtenant materials. We appreciate your understanding.

“As a refresher, the PRTT was inaugurated on June 10, 2010 by the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, with a clear mandate to restructure the Head of Service Pension Office, Police Pension Office, among others.

“We did our utmost with precision and national interests as our guiding principles. The PRTT took off effectively by January 2011. We used financial intelligence skills to achieve our assignment.

“We recovered and saved cash and properties worth over N1.6 trillion. Our efforts led to the arrest and prosecution of 46 persons/firms involved in looting of pension funds, which we handed to the EFCC. The trials are still ongoing.

“As it is, there is a leakage of N256 billion monthly from the current IPPIS which needs to be blocked urgently.

“Some pensioners got a backlog of about 30 years paid into their accounts. All payments were ordered under the signature of the Head of Service monthly.

“We are also aware of some government’s hidden accounts, which needed to be mopped up. We can be used to engage any department of government in sanitising the financial workflow to avoid loose ends that remain susceptible to leakages.” the letter stated.

“Based on the revelations of monumental fraud and outright stealing of pension funds, which was brought to public attention by the PRTT, the 7th National Assembly by a resolution of November 2, 2011 mandated its Committee on Establishment and Public Service, State and Local Government Administration, to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the management and administration of Pension funds in Nigeria.

“There was general expectation that the various dimensions of irregularities associated with the management of Pension funds in Nigeria would come to an end as a consequence of the investigations being conducted by the Senate Joint Committee.”

However, the letter noted that the Senate Joint Committee ended up creating more problems than solutions to the endemic corruption and fraud prevailing in the system.

It accused the Senate of haunting members of the task team, while favouring pension thieves.

“The PRTT regrets to observe that rather than achieving the objectives of the spirit and its mandate, which in our view includes but not limited to identifying those responsible for the culture of fraud that characterised the system and bringing them to book, the Senate Joint Committee ended up creating more problems than solutions to the endemic corruption and fraud prevailing in the system,” the letter read.

“We became objects of corruption fighting us back. From our first appearance before the Senate committee, it was obvious that the entire exercise conducted by the Committee was geared towards discrediting the PRTT.

“In this context, the PRTT, wishes to state without any fear of contradiction that the Senate Joint Committee’s Report submitted, which was subsequently adopted by the 7th Senate but now quashed by the Federal High Court judgement of 13th March 2013 in favour of the PRTT’s Chairman, not only failed to address the issues at stake but succeeded in misleading the Senate and the generality of Nigerians about the true picture, nature and scope of problems militating against the efficient management and administration of Pension Funds in Nigeria. Copy of said judgement attached and marked “ANNEXURE1”.

“Today, it (pension fraud) is worse with the Police Pension Office, where millions are taken out of pension funds daily. We have pieces of evidence to substantiate this.”

Maina said he had to flee the country following numerous threats to his life.

He also said that the ICPC conducted an investigation into the matter but “till date, they have yet to commence the prosecution.”

“As we write to you, Abdulrasheed A. Maina has been dismissed from the Civil Service for being absent for three days, while his life was under threat following a gunshot attack on his person in front of the Head of Civil Service Office, where his office was located in February, 2013. Attached are copies of letters from the Nigeria Police Force. ANNEXURE 3 (a) and (b),” the letter concluded.