After Six Years As Fugitive, Maina’s Son Faces Seven-Year Prison Sentence

Justice James Omotosho issued the order following an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and moved by its counsel, M.K. Hussain.

Faisal was reportedly rearrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on October 14 before being handed over to the EFCC. His arrest followed his earlier decision to jump bail and stay away from court proceedings for about six years.

He was initially arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja in 2019 on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering and failure to provide complete information in an asset declaration form.

Although the trial continued in his absence, Justice Okon Abang, now a Court of Appeal judge, convicted him in October 2021. He was initially sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on counts one and three, and 14 years on count two, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently.

The trial court also directed that Faisal be arrested wherever he was found and taken to a correctional facility to serve his sentence.

However, the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction in November 2022 but reduced the punishment, ruling that the maximum sentence should not have been imposed on a first-time offender.

In his latest decision, Justice Omotosho stated that, in accordance with the appellate court’s judgment delivered on November 24, 2022, Faisal would serve three years on count one, seven years on count two and three years on count three. The sentences are to run concurrently from October 14, the date of his rearrest.

The court established that Faisal operated a fictitious account with United Bank for Africa (UBA), through which his father allegedly laundered ₦58.1 million.

The funds were reportedly deposited into an account bearing the name “Alhaji Faisal Farm 2” and subsequently withdrawn by Faisal and his father between October 2013 and June 2019.

His father, Abdulrasheed Maina, previously headed the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team and was also convicted in a separate ₦2 billion money laundering case. He has since served his prison sentence.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the latest court order means Faisal will now be taken to a correctional centre to begin serving his seven-year sentence, following years of avoiding trial after jumping bail.