Court Orders Maina’s Son to Begin Seven-Year Jail Term After Six Years on the Run

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Faisal Maina, son of former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, to be committed to a correctional centre to begin serving his seven-year jail term for money laundering, six years after he jumped bail and fled.

The order was made on Thursday, November 12, 2026, by Justice James Omotosho, following an ex parte application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, ValidViewNetwork reports .

THE ORDER

Justice Omotosho granted the application and issued a warrant for Faisal’s commitment to a correctional centre.

The judge ordered that, in line with the Court of Appeal’s judgment of November 24, 2022, Faisal should serve three years’ imprisonment on count one, seven years on count two and three years on count three.

The sentences are to run concurrently, beginning from October 14, 2026, when he was re-arrested.

THE BACKGROUND

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Faisal was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja in 2019 on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering and failure to fully disclose his assets.

He pleaded not guilty before Justice Okon Abang, who was then presiding over the case, but later jumped bail and stopped attending court proceedings.

Following his disappearance, Abang proceeded with the trial in his absence and convicted him on October 7, 2021.

The court initially sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment on counts one and three, and 14 years on count two, with the sentences to run concurrently .

The Court of Appeal subsequently upheld the conviction but reduced the sentences in its judgment delivered on November 24, 2022, to three years on counts one and three, and seven years on count two.

THE RE-ARREST

Faisal was arrested by the Department of State Services on October 14, 2026, in the Karsana area of Abuja, about six years after he jumped bail.

He was subsequently handed over to the EFCC.

WHY IT MATTERS

Faisal Maina’s case is a reminder that justice, however delayed, can still be served. He was convicted in 2021. He fled. He spent six years on the run.

And now, he will spend the next seven years in prison.

The case also highlights the tenacity of the EFCC, which pursued him across jurisdictions and ensured that his sentence was not forgotten.

His father, Abdulrasheed Maina, was also convicted in a separate money laundering case involving about N2 billion. He has since completed his prison term .

The Maina family’s legal troubles are not yet over. But for Faisal, the running is done. ValidViewNetwork reports.