The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, convicted and sentenced the son of former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, Faisal, to 14 years imprisonment.
Justice Okon Abang found Faisal guilty on a three-count money laundering charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. (EFCC)
The court held that the anti-graft agency convincingly established 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 deposited into the account that was operated in the name of Alhaji Faisal Farm 2, was operated by the Defendant and his father, between October 2013 and June 2019.
Justice Abang said he was satisfied that the EFCC proved all the essential ingredients of the charge, stressing that the Defendant reasonably ought to have known that inflows into the bank account formed proceeds of an unlawful act of corruption by his father.
While the court sentenced the Defendant to 5 years in count 1 and 3 of the charge, he was sentenced to 14 years on count 2 of the charge, it held that the charge would run concurrently, starting from Thursday.
The court ordered that the 21-year-old Faisal, who had since June 24, 2020, failed to appear for his trial, should be arrested anywhere he is found in Nigeria and remanded in any Correctional Service Centre to serve his jail term immediately.
EFCC closed its case against him after it called three witnesses that testified in the matter.
It alleged that Maina’s son had sometimes between 2013 and 2019, received the sum of N58.11million, being proceeds of a corrupt act by his father.
He was also accused of failing to properly declare his assets before the EFCC.
