N2bn Pension Fund: Court Sets Aside Maina’s Arrest Warrant
Abdulrasheed Maina, Former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Force. [/caption]
A Chief Magistrate court sitting in Wuse, Abuja has set aside the warrant of arrest issued against Abdulrasheed Maina, the former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Force.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) had declared Mr. Maina wanted over alleged N2billion pension fraud.
The commission had in a statement by its spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said Maina was wanted for his role in the fraudulent biometric contracts through which himself and former Head of Service, Steve Oronsaye, and two others allegedly stole over N2 billion of pension funds.
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The commission in addition secured a court order to arrest Maina but the court last week set aside the order.
Maina had approached the court for an order setting aside the warrant of arrest issued against him by the court.
Chief Magistrate Usman Shuaibu in his ruling on Maina’s application said, “The application of the applicant is hereby granted as prayed. This court has no jurisdiction to issue such warrant,” he ruled.
Maina was on July 21, 2015 charged alongside Oronsaye, Osarenkhoe Afe and Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited before a Federal High Court on a 24-count charge bordering on procurement fraud and obtaining by false pretense.
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While Oronsaye and two others were in court and pleaded not guilty to the charge, Maina was not in court.
However, when the court heard the bail applications of the accused persons, Maina, through his counsel, Esther Uzoma, told the court that he was not at large, claiming that the EFCC had never invited him.
Consequently, EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, pleaded with the court to prevail on the counsel to the accused person to produce Maina in court as the commission had no clues as to his whereabouts.
The court granted Rotimi’s prayers.
