Former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, still faces eight years in prison for laundering about N2.1billion, as the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld the sentence.
A three-member panel of the court gave the judgment on Friday, May 5, with Justice Elfreda Williams-Daudu reading the lead judgment. The judges concurred that the November 8, 2021, judgment by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which convicted and sentenced Maina, was valid. Also, the appellate court found that Maina was not denied fair hearing by the trial court and that the prosecution established their case beyond reasonable doubt.
Abdulrasheed Maina was apprehended in Niger Republic while on the run from the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in December 2020. He was then extradited to Nigeria in 2021 and made to face a trial marked with legal battles.
Despite his frantic efforts to evade justice, the court, led by Justice Abang, found him guilty of the charges and sentenced him to eight years in prison with a N1billion fine.
Maina's appeal to the appellate court aimed to challenge the trial court's judgment as being an unfair hearing. However, the appellate court considered his claims and still upheld the judicial proceedings against Maina. With the outcome of the appeal court's decision, Maina exhausts every legal option for acquittal and must serve his sentence in prison.
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