Ex-Pension task team boss Abdulrasheed Maina released after serving jail term
Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), has been released from prison after serving his sentence for money laundering.
Maina was detained at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja, where he served an eight-year jail term. Although the exact date of his release remains unclear, sources said the former pension boss has been out of custody for several weeks.
READ ALSO: Federal High Court declines bail for Abdulrasheed Maina
In November 2021, a Federal High Court in Abuja convicted Maina over offences bordering on money laundering involving more than ₦2 billion. He was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after being arraigned in October 2019 on a 12-count charge, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Delivering judgment, Justice Okon Abang held that Maina diverted over ₦2 billion belonging to pensioners, many of whom died without benefiting from their entitlements. The court found that Maina concealed his identity by operating bank accounts through the names of his family members without their knowledge.
READ ALSO: Abdulrasheed Maina Cries Out: My leg might be amputated if I don’t get bail
Justice Abang convicted Maina on all 12 counts and sentenced him to a cumulative 61 years in prison, with the sentences to run concurrently from October 25, 2019, the date of his arraignment.
Maina challenged the ruling at the Court of Appeal, but in May 2023, the appellate court upheld both his conviction and the eight-year prison sentence.
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