The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that Faisal, son of the ex-convict, Abdulrasheed Maina, be committed to a correctional centre to serve his seven-year jail term following his recent re-arrest.
Justice James Omotosho gave the order after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, filed an ex-parte motion which was moved by its lawyer, M.K. Hussain.
Abdulrasheed was the former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team who was also convicted over a N2 billion money laundering charge and had since served his prison term.
Faisal was re-arrested by the Department of State Services, DSS, on Oct. 14 and handed over to the EFCC after he jumped bail and failed to attend his trial about six years ago.
He was, sometime in 2019, arraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja on a three-count charge of money laundering and failure to make full disclosure in an asset declaration form.
After Faisal took his plea on the charges preferred against him before Justice Okon Abang, who is now an Appeal Court justice, the defendant jumped bail and avoided his trial, prompting Justice Abang to proceed with the trial in his absence.
The judge delivered the judgment on Oct. 7, 2021, and he was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment on counts 1 and 3, and 14 years on count 2.
Justice Abang ordered that all the counts should run concurrently and that Faisal should be arrested anywhere he is found and taken to a correctional centre to serve his jail term.
After his re-arrest, the EFCC filed the ex-parte motion seeking an order granting leave to the commission to apply for the order enforcing Justice Abang’s judgment delivered against Faisal on Oct. 7, 2021.
It sought “an order issuing a warrant to commit the defendant/convict, Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, to the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) or prison to enable him serve the jail sentence imposed on him by his lordship, Honourable Justice O.E Abang, pursuant to the judgment delivered on the 7th October, 2021 and the Court of Appeal judgment of the 24th November, 2022.
“An order of this honourable court directing that the defendant/convict serve the jail terms as ordered against him from the 14th October, 2026, being the day he was rearrested.”
After Hussain moved the motion, Justice Omotosho granted it.
The judge, who gave the leave for the EFCC to apply for the order enforcing the judgment, issued a warrant to commit Faisal to NCoS to enable him serve the jail sentence imposed on him by the FHC and Appeal Court’s judgments, beginning from Oct. 14 when he was re-arrested.
Justice Omotosho said in accordance with the Appeal Court decision dated Nov. 24, 2022, the sentence shall be three years’ imprisonment in count 1, seven years in count 2 and three years’ jail term in count 3 respectively, which shall run concurrently from Oct. 14, being the date he was re-arrested.
