The anti-graft agency is expected to take further steps following Faisal Maina’s arrest after years on the run.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has taken custody of Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, son of former Pension Reform Task Team chairman Abdulrasheed Maina, following his arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja.
Faisal was reportedly arrested in the Karsana area of the Federal Capital Territory after intelligence indicated that he had secretly returned to Nigeria. He was subsequently handed over to the EFCC, according to media reports published on Friday.
His arrest comes about six years after he went on the run following his prosecution on money-laundering charges.
The EFCC is expected to take the necessary steps to enforce the court’s judgment against him, although the precise next steps have not been independently confirmed in the reports available.
Court conviction and sentence
In October 2021, the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted Faisal on money-laundering charges and sentenced him to 14 years’ imprisonment.
The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, found that Faisal operated a fictitious account with United Bank for Africa (UBA), through which about ₦58.1 million in pension funds was allegedly channelled.
The court said the funds were deposited into an account operated under the name Alhaji Faisal Farm 2 and withdrawn by Faisal and his father between October 2013 and June 2019.
In November 2022, the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction but reduced the sentence from 14 years to seven years, ruling that the maximum sentence should not have been imposed on a first-time offender.
What happens next?
Faisal’s transfer to the EFCC places him in the custody of the agency responsible for his prosecution, with enforcement of the existing court judgment expected to be a key consideration.
Reports indicate that the court had previously ordered his arrest and directed that he be remanded in a correctional facility to serve his sentence.
The authorities are expected to proceed in accordance with the court’s orders and applicable legal procedures.
Faisal’s father, Abdulrasheed Maina, was also convicted of money laundering involving pension funds and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was released in February 2025 following statutory remission for good conduct, according to the Nigerian Correctional Service.
In September 2026, the EFCC declared the former pension chief wanted over an alleged case of receiving stolen property.
Faisal’s arrest marks a significant development in the long-running legal proceedings surrounding the former pension task force chairman and his family.
