The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Faisal Maina, son of former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, to be transferred to a correctional centre to serve his seven-year prison sentence for money laundering.
Justice James Omotosho issued the order on Thursday, November 12, 2026, after granting an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking a warrant for Faisal’s commitment to the Nigeria Correctional Service.
The commission had asked the court to enforce the conviction and sentence imposed on Faisal in connection with money laundering and failure to fully disclose his assets in an asset declaration form.
The EFCC also requested that his prison sentence should commence from October 14, 2026, the date he was rearrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the Karsana area of Abuja.
Faisal was subsequently handed over to the EFCC, approximately six years after he jumped bail and disappeared during his trial.
After hearing the application moved by the commission’s counsel, M.K. Hussain, Justice Omotosho granted the request and issued a committal warrant.
The court directed that Faisal should serve three years’ imprisonment on the first count, seven years on the second count and three years on the third count. The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning he will serve a total of seven years, beginning from October 14, 2026.
Faisal was initially arraigned by the EFCC in 2019 on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering and failure to make full disclosure of his assets.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court. However, he later breached his bail conditions and stopped attending court proceedings.
Following his disappearance, the court continued the trial in his absence. On October 7, 2021, Justice Abang convicted him and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment on the first and third counts and 14 years on the second count. The sentences were to run concurrently.
The judge also ordered his arrest wherever he was found and directed that he be taken to a correctional centre to serve his sentence.
Faisal subsequently appealed the conviction and sentence. On November 24, 2022, the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction but reduced the sentences to three years on the first and third counts and seven years on the second count.
The appellate court ruled that the trial court should not have imposed the maximum prison term on him, considering that he was a first-time offender.
Despite the appellate court’s decision, Faisal remained outside prison until his arrest in October 2026, approximately six years after he disappeared.
His father, Abdulrasheed Maina, was also convicted in a separate money laundering case involving about ₦2bn in pension funds. He was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment and has since completed his prison term.
