ABUJA — The Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, declared Mr. Abdulrsheed
Maina, former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, wanted.
The commission,
in a statement by its spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said Maina was
wanted for his role in the fraudulent biometric contracts through which himself
and former Head of Service,
Steve Oronsaye, and two others allegedly stole over
N2 billion of pension funds.
Maina was on
July 21, 2015 charged alongside Oronsaye, Osarenkhoe Afe and Fredrick Hamilton
Global Services Limited before a Federal High Court on a 24-count charge
bordering on procurement fraud and obtaining by false pretense.
While Oronsaye
and two others were in court and pleaded not guilty to the charge, Maina had
been at large.
However on July
21 when the court heard the bail applications of the accused persons, Maina
through his counsel, Esther Uzoma, told the court that he was not at large,
claiming that the EFCC had never invited him.
Consequently,
EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, pleaded with the court to prevail on the
counsel to the accused person to produce Maina in court as the commission had
no clues as to his whereabouts.
The court
granted Rotimi’s prayers, yet Maina continued to shun court proceedings,
leaving the commission with no option than to declare him wanted.
Wilson said
that since the commission filed charges against Maina, more damning evidence
had emerged on how the ebullient former PTT boss siphoned pension funds using
secret accounts in a new generation bank in Abuja.
It will be
recalled that two senior officers of the bank were quizzed two weeks ago.
The commission
sources said last night that they had since been making damning revelations of
several opaque transactions through which Maina allegedly lined his pockets at
the expense of thousands of hapless pensioners.
The Commission
then implored anyone with information on Maina’s whereabouts to contact any of
its offices across Nigeria.
VANGUARDNGR.COM
No comments:
Post a Comment