The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested Faisal Maina, son of former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, after six years on the run. Faisal was reportedly arrested by DSS operatives in the Karsana area of Abuja following intelligence reports that he had secretly returned to Nigeria. Reports also indicate that he has been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further action. “His arrest followed credible intelligence which indicated that Faisal had secretly returned to the country,” a source told TheCable.
Faisal had been on the run since 2020, when he was arraigned by the EFCC on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering. Although he was granted bail, he allegedly breached his bail conditions and fled the country. Despite his absence, the trial continued, and the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted him of money laundering in October 2021, sentencing him to 14 years in prison.
The trial judge, Okong Abang, held that the EFCC had established that Faisal operated a fictitious bank account with United Bank for Africa (UBA), which was allegedly used by his father to launder N58.1 million. According to the court, the funds were deposited into an account operated under the name “Alhaji Faisal Farm 2” before Faisal and his father withdrew the money between October 2013 and June 2019.
In November 2022, the Court of Appeal upheld Faisal’s conviction but reduced his sentence from 14 years to seven years. The appellate court ruled that the trial court should not have imposed the maximum sentence on a first-time offender. The article does not state how his reported arrest relates to the sentence imposed by the court.
Faisal’s arrest comes amid fresh legal trouble for his father, Abdulrasheed Maina, who served an eight-year prison sentence at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja over the laundering of N2 billion in pension funds. He was released earlier in 2026 but was subsequently declared wanted by the EFCC over an alleged case of receiving stolen property. The commission’s case against the former pension reform chief is separate from the money laundering conviction involving his son.
