Appeal Court Upholds Conviction Of Maina’s Son – Reduces 14 Years Jail Term To 7

Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has upheld the conviction of Faisal, son of Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team (PRTT), over money laundering.

Gatekeepers News reports that a three-member panel led by Ugochukwu Anthony Ogakwu, the lead judge, gave the ruling on Thursday.

Ogakwu upheld the Federal High Court’s conviction of Faisal over the charges leveled against him.

The three-member panel, however, reduced the jail term from 14 years to 7, stating that the trial court should not have handed a maximum term on the ground that Faisal is a first-time offender.

In October 2021, Faisal was convicted by the Federal High Court in Abuja over money laundering and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned him on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering.

The trial judge, Okong Abang, held that the EFCC was able to establish that Faisal operated a fictitious bank account with the United Bank for Africa (UBA), through which his father, Maina, laundered the sum of N58.1million.

The court noted that the said fund which was initially deposited into the UBA account, operated in the name of “Alhaji Faisal Farm 2”, was subsequently withdrawn by Faisal and his father, between October 2013 and June 2019.

His father, Maina is currently serving an eight-year jail term at the Kuje prison in Abuja over the laundering of N2 billion pension funds.