On Friday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld the eight-year jail sentence handed down to the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, after his conviction on a 12-count money laundering charge. The three-member panel unanimously decided that there was no reason to overturn the Federal High Court in Abuja’s guilty verdict.
The court also ruled that there was no evidence to suggest that the trial court had denied Maina a fair hearing. In a lead judgement delivered by Justice Elfreda Williams-Daudu, the appellate court resolved all the issues Maina raised against him, asserting that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Justice Williams-Daudu also confirmed various interlocutory rulings made during the trial at the Federal High Court, which Maina had appealed against. Consequently, the court dismissed the appeal as lacking in merit.
Previously, on November 8, 2021, the high court had convicted and sentenced Maina for his involvement in money laundering brought against him by the EFCC. The commission accused Maina of using a bank account operated by his firm to launder funds and acquire landed properties in Abuja, among other allegations. Maina and his firm, Common Input Property and Investment Limited, were found guilty of the crime, and the court ordered forfeiture of assets and funds totaling approximately N2.1 billion.
