A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, sentenced 21-year-old Faisal Maina to 14 years in prison for money laundering.
Faisal is the son of Abdulrasheed Maina, a former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team.
The father and the son were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for money laundering and fraud allegations.
The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, who delivered the verdict, found Faisal guilty on a three-count charge of money laundering charge preferred against him by the EFCC.
Faisal, who was arraigned by EFCC on October 25, 2019, was admitted to bail on November 26, 2019, in the sum of N60 million with a surety in like sum who must be a member of House of Representatives.
However, Faisal jumped bail around September 2020 and stopped attending his trial.
The judge, on November 25, 2020, summoned the lawmaker, Rep Sani Dan-Galadima, representing Kaura-Namoda Federal Constituency of Zamfara, who stood as surety for Faisal, for disregarding court order to produce the defendant in court after he was granted bail.
Abang then revoked the bail granted Faisal, ordered his arrest and directed that his trial should proceed in absentia having being said to have jumped bail by the prosecution.
The judge also ordered the surety to forfeit the property which he used as a bail bond to the Federal Government, having failed to produce Faisal.
Delivering the judgement, the trial judge held that EFCC was able to establish that Faisal operated a fictitious bank account with the United Bank for Africa (UBA), through which his father, Maina, laundered the sum of N58.1 million.
The court said the said fund which was deposited into the account that was operated in the name of Alhaji Faisal Farm 2, was subsequently withdrawn by Faisal and his father between October 2013 and June 2019.
Justice Abang said he was satisfied that the anti-graft agency proved all the essential ingredients of the charge, adding that the defendant reasonably ought to have known that inflows into the bank account formed proceeds of an unlawful act by his father.
On count one, Faisal was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, 14 years on count two and another five-year sentence on count three. The sentence is to run concurrently starting from judgment day.
The judge also ordered that Faisal, who had since June 24, 2020 failed to appear for his trial, be arrested anywhere he is found in Nigeria and remanded in any Correctional Service Centre to serve his jail term.
“The federal government shall arrest the convict anywhere found in the country and commit him to serve his jail term, if not found in the country, the FG shall legally or lawfully commence extradition proceedings against him,” the judge held.
The judge ordered that the company through which the fund was laundered, Alhaji Faisal Farm 2, be wound up, and the funds in it forfeited to the government.
