Faisal, son of former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, Abdulrasheed Maina has on Thursday been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja. The Presiding Judge, Justice Okon Abang jailed Faisal, after he was found guilty on a three-count charge of money laundering involving N58.1 million filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Faisal, 21, who jumped bail in 2020 was absent when the sentence was read.
The judge sentenced him to 14 years on counts 2 and 5 years on each count 1 and 3, saying the sentences are to run concurrently, also, directing that the fugitive should be arrested anywhere found in Nigeria.
According to the court, the anti-graft agency successfully established that Faisal operated a fictitious account with the United Bank of Africa (UBA) through which his father laundered N58.1 million.
The court noted that the funds were deposited into the account name Alhaji Faisal Farm 2 and were subsequentially withdrawn by Maina between October 2013 and June 2019.
Faisal, whose father Maina is also facing separate money laundering charges involving N2 billion before the same judge jumped bail and has not appeared before the court since last year.
The court said EFCC proved all the charges, adding that "The defendant reasonably ought to have known that inflows into the bank account formed proceeds of an unlawful act of corruption by his father (Mr Maina).”
