The trial of Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, continued on Thursday, February 5, 2026, before Justice Abubakar Kutigi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Asokoro, with the judge threatening to revoke the defendant’s bail over what he described as repeated antics aimed at stalling the trial.
Justice Kutigi expressed displeasure following the presentation of a hospital referral by the defence counsel, Mr Achibong, and his subsequent request for an adjournment, despite the referral indicating no specific illness.
The judge lamented that the case had failed to make meaningful progress in the last four years due to what he described as deliberate attempts by the defendant to delay proceedings, despite the court granting him ample opportunity to respond to the fraud allegations.
Justice Kutigi noted that Maina’s conduct “has stalled proceedings completely,” recalling that the last time the defendant personally appeared in court was about four years ago. He warned that the court was considering revoking Maina’s bail to compel him to take the trial seriously.
While refusing the defence counsel’s adjournment request, the judge disclosed that he had secured a commitment from the defence team to proceed with the trial henceforth, with or without Maina’s physical presence in court.
Following the dismissal of the adjournment request, prosecution counsel, Francis Usani, proceeded to present the 14th prosecution witness (PW14), Gogi Mohammed, who continued his evidence-in-chief from where he stopped at the previous sitting.
Led in evidence by the prosecution, the witness, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), told the court that investigations in Kaduna revealed that the first defendant used staff of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) to siphon public funds through payments for fictitious contracts, allowances and biometric enrolment exercises for pensioners.
“In our effort to trace where the funds were kept, we discovered a relative of the defendant, one Maimuna Usman, resident in Kaduna, who was a custodian of his assets. We went to her residence at Gwando MSC Quarters, arrested her and executed a search warrant. During the search, we recovered title documents, deeds of assignment and certificates of occupancy for over 30 properties, mostly located in Abuja and Kaduna State. During interrogation, she disclosed that the documents were given to her by the first defendant,” he said.
The witness further testified that, following interviews with real estate agents involved in the transactions, the EFCC filed for the forfeiture of the properties.
According to him, several of the properties were purchased in cash.
“A property located in Jabi, Abuja, was purchased by Abdulrasheed Maina in cash for $2 million. Another property in Life Camp, Abuja, was bought for $1.7 million in cash, while a property on Katoru Road, Kaduna, was purchased for ₦100 million, also paid in cash,” he said.
Continuing his testimony, the witness said: “My Lord, in the course of my earlier testimony, I mentioned Hamilton Global Services Limited, owned by Osarenkhoe Afe. He was a member of the Pension Reform Task Team headed by Abdulrasheed Maina and was introduced to the team by the former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr Stephen Oronsaye, at the instance of Maina.
“Afe’s company was awarded a biometric enrolment contract valued at ₦63 million. Before the expiration of the contract, the company applied for an extension and additional payment of ₦136 million, bringing the contract sum to ₦199 million.”
The witness said EFCC investigators requested the bank statements of Innovative Solutions Limited and discovered that a total of ₦224 million was paid to the company for the same contract.
He told the court that the owner of the company, Robert Eakazobo, admitted during interrogation that the contract sum was inflated at the instance of the first defendant.
“Further analysis showed that out of the ₦224 million paid to Innovative Solutions, ₦166 million was transferred to Fredrick Hamilton’s account. It was also discovered that ₦1.19 million was paid directly to him by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation for biometric enrolment,” he said.
The witness added that Afe disclosed during investigation that the total amount he received from Innovative Solutions and direct payments from the OHCSF amounted to about ₦280 million, out of which he paid ₦250 million in tranches to the first defendant, mostly through post-dated cheques.
The witness identified the extra-judicial statements of the first and second defendants—six and three pages respectively—written in their own handwriting at the EFCC office. However, defence counsel to both defendants objected to their admissibility, alleging that the statements were obtained under duress.
To determine the circumstances under which the statements were made, Justice Kutigi adjourned the case to February 20 and 26, 2026, for trial-within-trial.
Maina was arraigned alongside Ann Igwe Olachi in 2019 on a nine-count charge bordering on the receipt of stolen funds amounting to ₦738,612,019.99 (Seven Hundred and Thirty-Eight Million, Six Hundred and Twelve Thousand, Nineteen Naira, Ninety-Nine Kobo).
Count one of the charge reads: “That Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, on or about July 2, 2010, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly received the sum of ₦155,000,000 (One Hundred and Fifty-Five Million Naira) from Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited through Osarenkhoe Afe, knowing that the said sum was stolen from the Federal Government of Nigeria under the guise of a contract for biometric enrolment of pensioners, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 317, read in conjunction with Section 316, of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, 2007.”
Count two reads: “That Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina and Ann Igwe Olachi, between July and December 2011 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly received an aggregate sum of ₦153,146,719.99 (One Hundred and Fifty-Three Million, One Hundred and Forty-Six Thousand, Seven Hundred and Nineteen Naira, Ninety-Nine Kobo) from Xangee Technologies Limited, knowing that the said sum was stolen from the Federal Government of Nigeria under the guise of a biometric enrolment contract, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 317, read in conjunction with Section 316, of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, 2007.”
Both defendants pleaded not guilty, prompting the commencement of trial.
