The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed its next line of action following the arrest of Faisal Maina, son of former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, after six years on the run.
The commission confirmed that it had taken custody of Faisal following his arrest by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale made the disclosure on Saturday.
According to Oyewale, the commission would obtain the necessary court order to transfer Faisal to a correctional centre to serve his prison sentence following his conviction for money laundering.
“Confirmed. The necessary court order will be obtained to take him to the Correctional Centre for him to serve his sentence,” Oyewale said in response to an enquiry by Premium Times.
Faisal was reportedly arrested in the Karsana area of Abuja after intelligence gathered by the DSS indicated that he had secretly returned to Nigeria.
A security source familiar with the operation said the arrest followed credible intelligence about his return to the country.
“His arrest followed credible intelligence which indicated that Faisal had secretly returned to the country,” the source said.
The source added that DSS operatives tracked Faisal to Karsana, where he was apprehended before being handed over to the EFCC, the agency that prosecuted him in the money laundering case.
A spokesperson for the DSS also confirmed that Faisal was arrested on Thursday and subsequently transferred to the anti-graft commission. However, details surrounding his return to Nigeria and the circumstances leading to his arrest remain limited.
Faisal had been on the run since 2020 after allegedly breaching his bail conditions and leaving the country while facing a three-count charge bordering on money laundering.
Although he was absent during the subsequent proceedings, his trial continued and ended with his conviction by the Federal High Court in Abuja in October 2021.
The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, sentenced him to 14 years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty of the offences.
The case centred on allegations that Faisal operated a fictitious account with United Bank for Africa (UBA) through which his father allegedly laundered N58.1 million.
The account was reportedly operated in the name of “Alhaji Faisal Farm 2”, with the funds deposited and subsequently withdrawn by Faisal and his father between October 2013 and June 2019.
The prosecution maintained that the transactions formed part of a scheme to conceal money linked to the alleged diversion of pension funds.
Following the Federal High Court judgment, Faisal challenged his conviction and sentence before the Court of Appeal.
In November 2022, the appellate court upheld the conviction but reduced his prison sentence from 14 years to seven years.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the trial court should not have imposed the maximum sentence on a first-time offender. The decision reduced the length of his imprisonment but did not overturn the conviction.
The development also revives public interest in the corruption case involving his father, Abdulrasheed Maina, whose tenure as chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team ended amid allegations of large-scale pension fund fraud.
Maina was prosecuted over the laundering of pension funds and was eventually convicted in a separate case involving approximately N2 billion.
He served an eight-year prison sentence at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja before being released earlier in 2026. However, he has since been declared wanted in connection with an alleged case of receiving stolen property.
